The Greater Evil
by Sesshy's Lil Angel
Summary: When Masha gets kidnapped, Ichigo soon follows suit. Will Kish kill ichigo or will love bloom? And if it does, will it survive? When Kish's home planet gets attacked, will Ichigo stand strong or will her love for him be overpowered by fear? R&R —ON HOLD—
1. Kidnapped

**Chapter 1-Kidnapped**

"Masha!" Ichigo Momomiya collapsed, her pink eyes brimming with tears as Kish (her worst enemy) snatched her best friend and leapt away. "No! This can't be happening! It's all my fault!"

"Ichigo…" began Retasu Midorikawa, "...it wasn't your fault-"

"Yes it WAS! Retasu, you don't understand. Masha was my best friend. And now he's gone!" Ichigo sobbed even harder, her pink hair and eyes converting back to their natural colours.

"Oh, quit your whining. We'll just go ask Ryou to locate her", reasoned Minto Aizawa impatiently.

Looking up hopefully, Ichigo stopped wailing. "Come on! There isn't any time to waste!"

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" called Purin Fon, as she raced after a now sprinting Ichigo.

* * *

Kish arrived at the cyniclons' secret lair. "You know we should really consider getting a better place to live… Huh?" Looking around he saw he was alone.

"Oh yeah, those stupid brats killed Tarto and Pai!" Feeling a pang of sadness, but pushing it aside, Kish bared his fangs and growled, "I'll get those damn Mew Mews if it's the last thing I do!"

* * *

I'm sorry girls, all I can tell you is that Masha is still on Earth." Ryou Shirogane informed the girls looking around as he did so. Each looked sad, yet none as sad as Ichigo, who had silent tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. "Ichigo…I'm sorry."

"It's…ok…Ryou…Keiichiro…you tried!" unable to say anymore Ichigo ran from the room, stumbling a little as she did so.

"We have to find Masha!" the girls chorused.

* * *

"There has to be a way to spy on the Mews", grumbled Kish, looking through Pai's old stuff.

"What's this?" wondered Kish, picking up an ancient book. Flipping through it he concluded: "Oh…just an old spell book."

"Maybe this is it!" Kish said as he wiped the dust off an old crystal ball. Seeing his own pine green hair and golden depths, Kish stood and took the musty sphere to a nearby table.

Staring at his own pale shin and pointed ears, Kish wondered how the ball worked. "Hmmm…let's see…" doubting it would work, Kish muttered "Show me the Mew Mews."

The crystal orb stayed blank. _'Maybe if I believe it'll actually work.'_ "Show me the Mew Mews", Kish stated with more confidence. The crystal ball remained blank.

A sudden thought struck him. _'Maybe the Mews aren't together at the moment.'_ "Show me Ichigo", still nothing happened. _'Maybe it's busted',_ thought Kish. _'OR there are more than one Ichigos_ _on the Earth and the ball doesn't know which one to show.'_

"Show me Ichigo of the Mew Mews!" Kish ordered the orb, growing excited.

Ichigo appeared clearly in the musty sphere, her red hair glistening in the setting sun.

Kish's ears twitched as he heard her trying to muffle her sobs yet failing miserably.

"Masha, I failed you. Why couldn't that bastard, Kish take me instead of you?"

"Ichigo! Ichigo! Masha safe! Masha safe!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I forgot about you. She can't hear you, you know?" Kish sneered.

"Ichigo! Ich-"

Kish had gotten up and kicked Masha into a pile of rubbish, knocking him unconscious. Then he returned to the orb, which now showed Ichigo furiously wiping away her tears, then jumping into bed, her back to the door.

"Ichigo?" her father called uncertainly from the door.

Ichigo, who was pretending to be asleep, had fresh tears making their way down her cheeks.

Ichigo's father switched off the light and quietly shut the door.

"Ugh! If she wants to be with that stupid fur ball so much, fine with me. I'll bring her in." Kish said grinning malevolently.

* * *

sorry t's so short but there'll be alot of chapters soooooo...i think that pays for the short chapters

i know it's not that good but it's one of my first fics so please please please review!

if you like this story i have another story it's inuyasha and it's called More Than Just it iz a SessXkag pairing

plz check it out and review

thank you to those who do and others damn you-lolz- just kiddin.

-lil angel


	2. Moving

**Chapter 2-Moving**

"Ichigo, could you come here please?" Keiichiro Akasaka and Ryou requested.

Ichigo silently got up and followed the guys into a back room. "Yeah? What?" she asked softly.

"Well…" Keiichiro began, his navy blue eyes flooded with concern.

"We doubt that Masha survived", Ryou continued, casting a sidelong glance at Keiichiro.

"We aren't receiving his signal anymore. It was faint before, but now……it's gone", Keiichiro finished.

Ichigo's cocoa eyes snapped up. "He's not dead! He wouldn't leave without saying good-bye. How could you even suggest that he's dead?" demanded Ichigo, her cocoa orbs filling with angry tears. He may be dead to you, but I'm going to save him!" with that Ichigo ran, not only out of the back room, but out of Café Mew Mew.

* * *

"Hmmmmm….well it would be no fun to take her now, how about when her and all her little friends are together so they'll actually put up a fight. AND so that they can see how weak they are by allowing their leader to be taken, then they'll probably be out of commission for the time being", Kish said, walking away from the now clean, clear crystal orb. 

"But first I must take over that delectable mansion I saw earlier today". Grabbing his swords, Kish set off, leaping form roof to roof toward his destination.

* * *

"Ich! Talk to us", Zakuro Fujiwara pleaded with her friend. 

Ichigo looked away, shame filling her entire being. First she had allowed Masha to be taken from her, and now her friends were probably mad at her for ignoring them.

Making up her mind, Ichigo turned around, "You guys, please just leave me alone. I don't mean to be such a bitch, but..."

Gasping, Purin jumped in. "Ichigo, you are not being a bitch. We realize how you feel and we're trying to cheer you up".

"We're not going to leave you alone!" Minto agreed.

"Yea, we refuse to let you, our friend and leader, be so down. I mean good friends don't do that", Retasu added.

"Thanks you guys", Ichigo said smiling weakly.

"No prob", Zakuro said.

"Group hug!" called Purin dragging everyone into a hug.

* * *

Kish arrived at the mansion at sunset. He leaped up into a tree and scanned the building for open windows. 

He spotted one on the fifth floor. He leapt in easily and looked around. It was a bedroom. The room had a queen-sized bed with multiple comforters and pillows. The sheets were red velvet, along with velveteen curtains. The room had a large walk-in closet equipped with all sorts of clothes and shoes. The chamber also came with two bedside tables, a desk and a full-length mirror.

Apart from everything else, the room held no clues that it was inhabited. _'Little lavish for a guestroom isn't it?' _Kish thought. _'Oh well, all the more for me'._

After going through all the rooms on the fifth and sixth floors, he guessed they were all guest rooms, each with its own colour (red, blue, green, lavender etc.).

When he got to the seventh floor he found only three doors.

He walked into the one closest to him. So far, this room was by far the best in the house. It was about the size of about four guest rooms put together, and the guest rooms weren't exactly whet you could call small. It had two walk-in closets labelled "For Her" and "For Him". The bed was over triple the size of a king-sized bed, with over twenty pillows and comforters. The room came with a pair of desks, bedside tables and probably everything from crimson sheets to a balcony.

Noticing that all the cloth in the room was the finest possible silk, Kish decided that this was to be his room without having to look at the other rooms, deciding that nothing could top this room.

He went to the wispy, silk, crimson curtains and pushing them aside saw that the grounds were as satisfying as the house itself.

He reluctantly left the room to see the others. Both were slightly smaller, and had three double beds (which could be pushed together to be almost as big as the bed in the master bedroom. The rooms also contained three closets, dresser, desks etc. Each also had their own colour, one was the purest of all pinks and the other was the deepest of all blues.

'_Probably for the kids'_ Kish thought, _'Blue for the boys and pink for the girls'._

Leaving the top floor (by stairs because the elevator would take too long and it was too loud), Kish descended through the floors, examining each of the numerous rooms.

The fourth floor was a games area. There were two large rooms. One was for the boys and the other for the girls.

The third floor was devoted to a massive family room along with an equally big TV. The room also included surround sound and other useful electronics.

The second floor was a living room which was equally as big and well equipped as the family room.

The main floor was devoted to a kitchen and a dining room.

Just as Kish was wondering where everyone was, he heard shouts coming from the basement. He quietly slipped down the steps.

* * *

"Ms. Kianna, please stop that", pleaded a harassed looking woman in a maid's uniform.

Kianna was a teenaged girl with shoulder-length, blond hair and wild, bright green eyes, but she wasn't the only "kid" present. There was another, younger girl around the age of nine and three boys who looked around twelve, eight, and five.

Kianna (the oldest) was holding her youngest brother upside-down with an evil glint in her eyes. "But Kyle started it", argued Kianna, mockingly.

At this point, the boy named Kyle was crying. "No, I didn't, you lying slut!"

Kianna's cool attitude dissipated instantly and was replaced by rage. She dropped Kyle head-first into the concrete floor.

"Let's go, Kaira! (Kah-eer-a)", Kianna ordered. At once the younger girl stood up and scuttled to Kianna's side.

Having seen enough, Kish jumped out from where he was hidden and grabbed Kianna, holding one of his swords at her throat. "Anyone moves and Kianna here dies".

At once Kyle stopped bawling, the maid froze mid-sentence, and two adults that where lounging in the background on lawn chairs froze as well as the remaining kids.

"Now", Kish continued. "You will leave everything and exit the house quietly. I warn you not to call the authorities, because not only will _they_ die, I will hunt you down as well. Don't try anything stupid, because I will not hesitate in killing this girl. Everyone up the stairs in single file, hurry up or you'll be missing a member of you're family".

Everyone hastily got up and filed up the stairs and out the door to the house, but Kish didn't stop there, he led them out past the gates and up the street. Then he let go of Kianna and in a blink of an eye was locking the gates to the mansion.

By midnight Kish had moved all his stuff from his old lair to his new mansion. He also made sure to bring Ichigo's dead fur ball (though it was nothing he couldn't fix, not that he wanted to) and his crystal orb (which he carried with extra caution).

Kish now had done everything he needed to before he "allowed" Ichigo to join her fur ball here with him.

* * *

ok u guys anotha chappie done that took long...ooooohh my back is sore 

anywaz plz plz plz review it'll make me update faster and so you can read it faster

k u guys i also would like you to check out ma sessXkag fanfic and review

u guys need to review!

come on! oh y a and i will have the next chappie in by tthe end of next week

i'm sry but i have alot of hmk

sry BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T EVIEW

YOU GUYS HAVE TO REVIEW ! THAT'S LIEK MY LIFE SOURCE

LOL

thank you all

and i go down on my knees and beg you to PLZ REVIEW

thx to all who do

others well...the least you can do is continue reading my story (along with my reviewers)

THX EVRY1

no flames plz

-lil angel


	3. Battle

**Chapter 3-Battle**

"Girls, have you been able to talk to Ichigo?" Keiichiro asked Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro.

"Yeah, actually we have", Zakuro started.

"It was brief, but still", Retasu continued.

"She even smiled…or tried to," Minto added.

"She even joined our group hug," Purin finished.

"Well that couldn't be helped, since you dragged her in", Minto said, causing Purin to huff playfully, then join everyone in weak laughter.

"Where is Ichigo anyways?" Zakuro asked, being the first to recover from the anxious laughter.

Ryou, who had been on the computer, suddenly shouted, "She's about to enter a battle with Kish. Quick! Go to her aid".

* * *

"I miss Masha", sighed Ichigo to herself.

"Well, would you like to join him?" came the unmistakable voice of Kish.

"Huh? Where are you?" Ichigo asked, looking around confusedly.

"Look up", Kish answered.

Ichigo looked up as the last cyniclon jumped down from a towering building.

Surprised, when Kish landed right in front of her, so close that she could feel his warm breath tickle her face, Ichigo fell backwards. Once on the ground she found herself staring into Kish's molten orbs, and (for some odd reason) she felt her cheeks burn.

Kish's ears twitched and he immediately jumped back, just as the other Mews came into view, already transformed into their animal counterparts.

As each called on their own specific attacks, Kish dodged all with amazing agility.

"Why are you here?" Zakuro demanded.

"And what have you done to Ichigo?" Purin added as she hurried over to Ichigo, who was still on the ground staring at the spot where Kish had been standing just seconds ago.

"Purin, I'm fine", Ichigo said, snapping back to reality and getting up.

"Transform and help us", commanded Minto.

"Yeah, of course", transforming, Ichigo recited her well-known motto, though without the usual enthusiasm.

_"Mew Mew style,_

_Mew Mew grace._

_Mew Mew power,_

_In your face." _

"Strawber-".

Kish snatched one of his blades and flung it at Ichigo's so-called "Strawberry Bell".

The blade stuck into the middle of the actual bell, and the "Bell" cracked in half.

"Oh, no!" Ichigo cried.

In a flash, Kish was once again in front of her, this time though; he grabbed his blade and one side of the Strawberry Bell and leapt back smirking.

_CRACK!_

The bell had broken in half. Both (Ichigo and Kish) had half the bell.

"No", Ichigo gasped.

"Uh, oh", Retasu said.

For the second time in the same week, Ichigo collapsed helplessly.

"No Ichigo! Be strong! Call on another weapon!" Zakuro cried desperately.

Ichigo, looking as broken as the Strawberry Bell, said in a hollow voice, "I…I can't".

All thoughts of finally defeating Kish forgotten, the girls all rushed to the fallen Mew's side.

"Please Ichigo…try", Minto pleaded.

"You asshole! See what you did?" Purin yelled, a note of hysteria in her voice.

"Actually, I do see exactly what I've accomplished, now step aside, I don't have all day", Kish replied coolly.

The remaining four Mew Mews stood between Ichigo and Kish.

"Well, if that's the way you want to do it…"

"Shut the hell up and fight us!" screamed Retasu, rare rage evident in her voice.

"Ok, well I won't kill you, at least not today", Kish said mockingly.

"We don't want your pity!" Minto retorted.

"Well, tempting as it is, I'm not going to kill you. Not just yet, that is".

Kish drew his second sword (the first still being in his hand from when he had snapped the Strawberry Bell). "Come at me…that is…if you can", he mocked, pausing at just the right moments to make the Mews even angrier than they already were.

The four girls charged at him, blinded with fury. Kish leapt into the air dodging them all, except Purin, who at the last minute leapt with him and landed a punch in his stomach.

When Kish landed, he was unaffected by Purin's punch and sneeringly stated, "At least one of you knows how to fight. Too bad she's be down for a while along with all her little friends".

Suddenly, he charged at the girls and took several, graceful swipes with his blade. He had not hit them too hard, for they weren't going to die yet, he needed them for something, but they had to be out of commission for long enough for him to actually be able to finish constructing his project and test it on them.

Retasu had gotten a cut across her stomach. Minto's legs now had horrible gashes all along them. Zakuro had multiple cuts across her stomach, arms, and legs adding her to the list of fallen Mew Mews. Purin, being a type of monkey, had jumped back and escaped with just a small cut on her cheek.

Unexpectedly, Kish swung around and kicked Purin's knee from the side. A sickening crack echoed through the still night as Purin's leg seemed to snap in slow motion. She fell in slow motion as well her leg sticking out at an unusual angle, "I…tried…" her voice faded away as Purin passed out.

Ichigo watched horrified. Making sure that the three injured girls that were actually still conscious were watching, Kish walked slowly and triumphantly over to Ichigo, leaning down, he grabbed her around the waist and heaving her up, Kish sneered, "I'll be taking this".

Without waiting for a reply, Kish took off, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, hearing (but choosing to ignore) the injured Mews' outraged cries.

* * *

Fireheartluver:Isn't Masha a boy?

lil angel: yeah sry bout that, i sorta screwed up there (to all who r saying the same thing:sry my bad)

sry it took so long, but the average time it'll take is at least a week, sry

i'm not so gud with action scenes plz review and tell me what you think... it's the 1st action scene i've ever dun so...ya

remember if i get lots of reviews, that makes me happy and if i'm happy i'll type and update faster.

plz review (i beg u)

thx

-lil angel


	4. Depending on the Enemy

**Chapter 4-Depending on the Enemy**

"Where are you taking me?" demanded Ichigo.

"To your fur ball", answered Kish absentminded.

"How long will it take to get there?" questioned Ichigo.

"Couple hours".

"WHAT!"

"Would you shut up? You're going to deafen me".

"Sure, I'll shut up, IF you change my position. This is uncomfortable and it hurts my hip".

"Just for the sake of being able to hear…" stopping on a rooftop, Kish put Ichigo down, but immediately picked her up again, this time bridal style.

Ichigo sighed contently, "Much better."

After about half and hour of craning her neck to look below at the scene, Ichigo looked up at Kish's face. A lock of his pine green hair troubled his eye for a moment, but the wind blew it away just as quickly.

Kish's golden orbs moved down to meet similar cocoa pools. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing", Ichigo responded quickly, flushing as she looked down.

"Stupid human", Kish muttered.

"Hey—"

A glare from Kish shut her up.

Her neck tired (from so much craning) and her eyes struggling to stay open (due to her being so tired and the wind biting at her eyes), Ichigo rested her head on Kish's steadily rising and falling chest and was soon lulled to sleep by his steady heartbeat.

Startled, Kish looked down at peacefully slumbering Mew. "Feh", he scoffed. "Falling asleep on the enemy, what a dunce", he was about to wake her when he thought, _'At least now she's quiet'_, and left her asleep.

Half an hour later, Ichigo (who was still asleep) was clinging to Kish's shirt, as if for dear life, and mumbling something that he couldn't make out, even with his advanced hearing.

Suddenly, she cried out, "NO! STOP IT!" surprising Kish so much, that he almost lost his grip on her.

Kish looked down, annoyed at he girl. She was gripping his shirt so tight that her knuckles were white. Again, Kish considered awakening her, and again thinking better of it at the last minute. Kish continued on quietly as if nothing had happened, but not for long.

Ichigo started squirming in her sleep, Kish knew that if she were actually on a bed, that she would be tossing and turning. For a couple of minutes, Ichigo almost caused Kish to drop her.

Finally, Kish had had enough. He growled out dangerously, "You stupid brat, wake up! Do you want me to lose my grip on you?"

Ichigo stopped squirming. Fear clearly outlined in her chocolate pools, as she gazed up at her captor.

"What are you going to do with me?" she whimpered, her fear even more evident in her voice.

Thinking it through he answered, "You're going to do as I say, at least until I can think of something better to do with you".

"Hey! So you kidnapped me for no reason?" she burst out, most of her fear replaced with outrage.

"Why couldn't Kish, that bastard, take me instead of you, Masha!" Kish imitated, pulling on a squeaky, high-pitched girlish voice that actually sounded a little like Ichigo. "Ring any bells?" he asked sneeringly, returning to his regular cold voice.

"You were _SPYING_ on me!" cried Ichigo in protest, "Let go of me you pervert!"

"Have you _already_ forgotten where we are?" Kish questioned, allowing her to look down, then loosening his grip dangerously.

Ichigo immediately locked her arms around his neck. "You wouldn't dare!" she warned uncertainly.

Kish suddenly smirked with amusement, "Wouldn't I?" he asked allowing his arms to fall limply to his side.

"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii", Ichigo's feline ears and tail popped out, and out of pure instinct, Ichigo wrapped her legs around Kish's torso and pulled herself even closer to him by readjusting her arms around his neck.

Staring down as Kish, somehow, managed to keep going, Ichigo pulled herself as close to him as possible, but making sure, all the same, that he could still see where he was going.

"What's the matter kitty-cat?" Kish asked with a falsely concerned voice, when he saw that Ichigo's eyes were tightly clenched shut, "Afraid of heights?"

"Yes! Now stop it!"

"Stop what?" questioned Kish with the same false concern.

"You're going to make me fall!" Ichigo screeched, feeling her arms slip and once again readjusting them.

"Well, I don't know what to do", Kish's voice was still dripping with fake concern. "Tell me, what should I do?"

Ichigo opened her eyes to glare at Kish, but when she felt herself and Kish plunge, she shut them again and buried her face in his shoulder. When she was absolutely sure that they weren't falling, Ichigo again glared at Kish and shouted, "You have to hold me tightly against yourself, making sure I don't fall".

When he didn't respond, Ichigo chanced it and looked at his face. She saw that he was gazing intently at her with a delicate brow raised. "Hold you tightly against myself? Now why would I do that? Give me one good reason as to why I should do that", he asked silkily.

She blinked, suddenly realizing what she had just said. The colour of her face matched that of her reddish-copper hair. "Uh…" she also just seemed to notice how she was clinging to him, "Um…"

Ichigo loosened her grip a little, but as soon as she did so she felt herself slip and pulled herself closer to Kish by again retightening her grip. She looked away, hoping her cheeks would stop burning, but they didn't. In fact to make matters worse, Ichigo could feel Kish's eyes burning into the back of her head.

The gentle rise and fall of Kish's stomach seemed to soothe her. The burning of her cheeks stopped. Hoping that her face was back to normal, Ichigo looked back at Kish.

Taking a deep breath, she began, "I have no reason", her voice barely above a whisper, she continued. "I'm sorry", Ichigo looked down, trying to hide the tears that she knew she couldn't stop, "Please Kish…I'm really scared". Ichigo's feline ears drooped as well as her tail that, until now, had been swinging around crazily, but now hung limp.

_'She's crying? Why?_

_'Cause she's scared, you idiot._

_What should I do?_

_Nothing, she killed your comrades._

_…But, I'm not good with crying females. Should I cease her crying?_

_You're a cyniclon! She's a human!_

_She's not a regular human, she has powers that no human could ever hope to have. And besides it's not like I like her or anything._

_Then?_

_She just looks so helpless…so broken._

_So!_

_She's supposed to fight, not cry!_

_…Well, don't go making it look like you like her or anything, otherwise she'll get all clingy and… stuff._

_Whatever._

"Well since you are making my neck sore…" Kish stopped on another rooftop, and was again holding her bridal style. "Look. That's where we're going", Kish pointed to a huge mansion in the distance that loomed over all the smaller buildings.

"Oh my god! Is that where you live? Oh, wow!" Ichigo gasped, wiping away her tears.

"We'll be there in about half an hour".

"'K", Ichigo's eyelids drooped and for the second time that night she fell asleep leaning comfortably against a strong chest and listening to a steady, soothing heartbeat.

* * *

hi guys! ssry for takin so long but it will take at least a week to update. 

u guys plz plzplz update

u kno wat i'm not going to update until i have at least 5 reviews (the least time it'll take btw is a week-sry-i still go to skool u kno)

REVIEW OR IT'LL TAKE ME LONGER THAN ONE WEEK TO UPDATE!

REMEMBER AT LEAST 5 REVIEWS

thx

-lil angel


	5. Growing Closer and Making Promises

**Chapter 5-Growing Closer and Making Promises**

Birds chattered excitedly outside as the sun took its time to rise and spread its light and warmth over the chilled land.

A gentle breeze flooded through an open window, causing wispy, silk curtains to flutter apart. Through a slight gap between the curtains, sunlight streamed in, lighting up her face, which seemed to glow with serenity beyond compare. Her reddish-copper hair shone brilliantly, matching perfectly with the pure pink of the pillow covers and sheets. The coloured sheets complimented the pale peach of her soft skin. Her lush lips' perfect shape corresponded with her elegantly shaped eyebrows. The silk sheets spread lightly over her body outlined her slim figure.

A calm breeze rolled in through the open window, rustling her short hair. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing large, cocoa orbs.

"Huh? Where am I?" her eyes swivelled around, taking in her surroundings. "It's…so…pink."

Feeling immensely exhausted, she got up, and made her way towards the large windows. Spotting a window seat, she went to it and sat down, gazing out the window.

Outside, several fountains tossed water around in a careless, yet graceful manner. Trees of all sorts littered the vast, grassy grounds. Flowers grew abundantly in the numerous beds.

Ripping away her gaze, she looked for a clock in the bedroom. Finding one, she saw that the glowing red numbers read 7:16a.m.

Seeing five similar doors, she got up and headed to the closest one. She opened it to find a room similar to her own, but instead of being pink, it was blue. Closing that door and moving on, she found that the next door was to a spacious bathroom. Proceeding to the third door, she found it to lead into a short hallway with 3 spaced out doors. Making a mental note to check those out later, she went on to the fourth door. It turned out to be a huge closet filled with hundreds of outfits. Reluctantly, she moved to the fifth and last door.

Opening it revealed a massive, crimson room. "This must be the master bedroom," she said to herself. Looking around she saw a dark red carpet, redwood furniture, a monstrous bed with crimson sheets, pillows and comforters. There were wispy, crimson curtains covering the enormous windows and more. Through all the wondrous stuff in the room, the most attractive item was the colossal bed.

Seeing that the sheets on the bed were disturbed, she made her way toward the bed. When she got to the bed, it appeared to be empty.

Being unable to contain herself any longer, she threw herself onto the bed. She felt the gentle bounce and closing her eyes, she sighed in contentment.

Suddenly beside her, a voice sounded, "Manners, Ichigo. It's not your house."

Ichigo's eyes snapped open and her body tensed. She remembered now, she remembered what had happened. She remembered about Masha, the other Mews, and last but now least, she remembered who had brought her to this place and who was beside her. Kish.

"Scared Kitty-Cat? Need help? Is big, bad Kish scaring you? Need a shoulder to cry on?"

"Kish?"

"That's right, neko."

"I _do _need help. No, you're not scaring me. And I need…" Ichigo turned her back on Kish.

"Need who? Masaya? He's not going to come for you. He doesn't even like you the way you think he does. Oh? Didn't you know? He likes Minto, the little birdie."

Ichigo froze. She had heard rumours, but she had never quite believed them. But to hear Kish say it…

"And if you're wondering about Keiichiro…well let's just say that he and Zakuro really turn on the heat in the bedroom."

Ichigo's mouth went dry. Taking a deep breath, she asked about Ryou.

Kish's grin revealed his deadly fangs, "Sparks have been flying between Retasu and Ryou these days. Not just petty sparks by the way, they are pretty intense."

"What about Purin?"

"She's still a little young…don't you think?"

"…yeah," Ichigo took time to take in everything Kish had just told her. EVERYONE had a boyfriend or a girlfriend (except for the young one), and that left her. With no Masaya, who else was left? Ryou and Keiichiro were unavailable as well. She was the only Mew Mew that was…single.

Kish watched as Ichigo processed what he had told her. Her body language reflected loneliness and longing.

"What about you, Kish, who are you with?" came a timid voice.

"I have a choice. I can go back home and accept Matara as my wife, _or _I can choose an earth girl."

"Who's Matara?"

"She's the hottest girl on my request list—which is a list of girls asking me to give them a chance at being mine."

"Wow. You're that popular?"

Kish just smirked.

"But right now…you're available?"

Kish nodded, drawing behind her and snaking his arms around her waist. Nuzzling her neck, he mocked, "Interested?"

Ichigo blushed furiously. "Oh my God! I am in bed with you! Oh my God!" Pulling away from Kish, Ichigo jumped out of bed and burning with embarrassment stated, "I'm hungry. Could you lead me to the kitchen?"

"Of course Kitty-Cat. What kind of a host do you think I am?" Kish replied, getting up and heading toward the door.

Ichigo bit back a remark as she followed Kish downstairs.

After a long decent, Kish finally led Ichigo into a humongous kitchen. "Take whatever you want."

"Kish?"

"What?"

"Why do you need such a big house?"

"I want one. It's going to serve as a home to my mate and kids, not just me."

"Oh. What's on all the other floors?"

"Lots of stuff."

"How many floors are there?"

"Nine, including the basement and attic."

"Wow. Could you give me a tour sometime?"

"Whatever you want Ichi-chan, whatever you want." With that, Kish walked away from an unsettled Ichigo.

'_Did he just call me what I think he called me?_

_Ichi-chan? Yup. That's what I heard too._

_I didn't think that anyone (other than my friends of course) could possibly think of a nickname with the name "Ichigo."_

_Well, he just made the impossible, possible. By the way, what was that?_

_What?_

_In the bedroom, asking about Kish's personal matters?_

_I don't know, envy of the other Mews, general curiosity._

_Why do I have the feeling that the latter was supposed to be a decoy?_

…_shut up._

_I was just saying—_

_Just be quiet! Otherwise, I'll never get to eat, and I'll starve to death in probably the most well equipped kitchen known to mankind._

_Ok, ok chill. You can go eat now.'_

* * *

"Keiichiro! KEIICHIRO!" Zakuro called desperately from her bed. The injuries she had received in the battle with Kish made her immobile for a while. Her legs were currently useless, her arms hurt like hell, and her stomach wasn't _that _bad, but it still caused her loads of pain. Since then, Keiichiro had volunteered to stay over at her house to help out until she was able to move regularly again.

"Yes? What is it, hun?" Keiichiro asked, stepping into her room wearing an apron and wiping a plate with a clean rag.

"What are you doing?" Zakuro demanded

"I'm…washing the dishes. Should I be elsewhere?"

"Yes! You should be helping look for Ichigo! What do you think?"

"Well, I think that…look Zaku-chan…we tried. We can't get a signal from either Ichigo _or_ Masha."

"Who's _we_?"

"Ryou and I"

"What are you trying to say?"

"…"

"That we'll never be able to find Ichigo and Masha?"

Keiichiro sighed, "I ne—"

"Maybe if you let us help you, we would be able to find our friends!"

"Zaku-chan, listen…," Keiichiro took a deep breath, preparing for what came next, "first of all, all of you are too injured to look for Ichigo and Masha, second we aren't even sure that Ichigo and Masha are still alive…"

"Don't say that!" Tears poured from Zakuro's eyes, she attempted to get up, but failed, clutching her stomach and wincing in pain. Keiichiro saw this and made his way to a dresser to put his plate and rag onto it.

"Shhhh. It's ok. We'll find them," Keiichiro went to Zakuro's side and wrapped his strong arms around her shaking figure. Keiichiro hugged Zakuro closer, seeing that her orchid-coloured hair was tangled and messy, her eyes had dark circles under them and her clothes were home to several stains and wrinkles. "Sorry I said that Ichigo and Masha might be dead. Truth is that we'll find them, and they'll be alive and healthy.

* * *

He could feel her sitting behind him. She'd been there for over 2 hours now, watching him and trying not to cry; watching him try to locate Ichigo and Masha. He wanted to turn around, envelop her in his arms and tell her that everything would be fine. He hadn't built up enough courage yet though to actually do that.

'_What are you waiting for? You are finally alone with her and now this? You've got to take the first step! Quick, before she leaves!_

_I can't…_

_Why? Don't you like her?_

_I do…_

_But?_

_But, I'm scared that she might reject me._

_Well, she might not, and what if she likes you too, but she's too afraid to say anything, and you two never get together?_

…

_You miss 100 of all the shots you don't take. Now GO!_

_But…'_

"Ryou…it's getting dark…I should go." Retasu struggled to get up; their (Mew Mews') bout with Kish had ended in each obtaining their own injury/injuries. She had gotten a particularly nasty cut across her stomach. It had hurt so much that she had cried for her mom. Now it was neatly bandaged, but the bandages would need to be changed in a little over an hour. When she finally managed to stand up, she met another obstacle:

'_Go Ryou! Now's our only chance!'_

"Wait Retasu!"

"What is it?" Retasu asked, blushing.

"I…want you to stay."

"…but…it's getting dark," her blush deepened.

"I'll walk you home later."

"Thanks…but sorry, I really need to get going. I need to change the bandages on my stomach too."

Ryou got up as Retasu turned to go. He grabbed her arm and said, "Won't you stay just a _little _longer…with me? I promise I'll change your bandages for you."

Turning, she agreed, her face no longer able to get any redder.

Ryou took hold of both her hands with his own. "You look…beautiful tonight."

Retasu looked away, "Thank you."

Ryou saw Retasu blink back tears and asked, "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"

"No…" Tears spilt from Retasu's blue orbs. "Ichigo was my first, real friend and now, she's gone!"

Taking Retasu in his arms, Ryou whispered, "Don't cry. We'll find her. Shhhh. I'll make sure that Ichigo and Masha are safe. I'll find them, I promise you, Reta-chan, with all my heart. I'll find them, if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

"Minto, you have a visitor," called an elderly voice outside her door.

"Who is it?" Minto asked, wiping away tears.

"It's me," answered a masculine voice.

"Come in," Minto replied.

The door opened and a boy stepped in. Closing the door behind him, and seeing Minto sitting on the edge of her bed, gazing pensively out the window, he headed to her turned back. Wrapping his long arms around the girl, he whispered in her ear, "Hello Minto-chan," and kissed her head lovingly. Noticing her heavily bandaged legs, he asked, "Hunny, what happened to your legs?"

"I…I was walking home one day…with food for my grandma and…a whole lot of cats probably smelled the food because it was still hot and came racing out of alleyways. They were probably starving, because they started scratching me and biting me. I ran as fast as I could to my house, but by then my legs were in horrible condition. My grandma bandaged my legs, but she still doesn't let me walk that much." Not letting Masaya comment on her legs, she changed the subject by bringing her hands up to grip his arms. "Masaya…I'm really worried about Ichigo…" pausing to wipe away her tears, she continued. "I mean, she has always liked you. How do you think she'll take it?"

"Take what?"

"The fact that, the one boy she ever liked…prefers her friend over her."

"Oh, that? What if…we just don't tell her?"

"That would be evil, and she might ask you out or something, and when you refuse…it would break her heart."

"I'll tell her."

"But…we have to do it together; otherwise…she might think you're lying to get away from her…or something crazy like that."

"Ok, we'll do it together. Shall we go now?"

Fresh tears formed in Minto's brown eyes. "We…can't."

"Why not?"

"Because…she got…kidnapped." Minto's body shook violently with the effort of holding back stampeding tears. Her efforts were in vain. Tears leaked through her efforts easily. Only when Masaya hugged her did Minto let her tears flow freely.

"How? When? Who? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"…" Minto was unable to speak through her river of tears.

"Hush, don't cry. She can't be _that _far away…can she?" When Minto shook harder, Masaya wished he hadn't been thinking aloud. "No, no, no! I promise I'll help find her. You'll have her back in no time…Minto-chan…please stop crying," Masaya pleaded. "I know it's hard…but you have to be strong. I promise that I will find her, and bring her back unharmed." Then he whispered in her ear, "I swear."

**End Chapter**

* * *

**guyzz im so so so sryy!**

**i didn' t mean 2 keep u guyz waiting for so long!**

**plzz 4give me :( **

**imm so sorry**

**i never got the tiem **

**wiht skool and everyitng**

**im so sry**

**-lil angel**


	6. Mood Swings and Worry

**Chapter 6-Mood Swings and Worry**

'_I'm so bored. For a mansion with two game rooms, this is a pretty boring place._

_Why don't you do something with Kish? _

_I don't know. I bet that he won't do it._

_He's probably bored too, you know._

_Well, what should _we _do then?_

…_have a pillow fight or something like that. _

…_that's not such a bad idea._

_Ok then, let's go._

_Ok.'_

Ichigo stopped staring at the pink ceiling and got up. She made her way to the 5th door, and took a deep breath. Opening the door, Ichigo ran in and jumped onto the crimson bed,

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little neko? Again in my chambers? Is there something you want?" Kish spoke from beside her.

"Kish, you talk too much." Ichigo sat up and grabbing a pillow, hurled it into his face. "You should really learn to shut up."

Ichigo felt a sharp impact on her back and fell face-first onto the bed.

Pummelling her back with pillows, Kish asked, "Now, is it really I, that talks too much?"

'_I didn't expect this,' _Ichigo thought as she tried to escape her prison. Ichigo tried kicking her legs; all this accomplished was the sudden weight across her legs, but no change in the pillow throwing. Ichigo tried flailing her arms backwards, but quit after a while, because it wasn't helping and it hurt to move her arms in that certain angle. Ichigo tried lifting her head backwards, but it was ruthlessly slammed back down by a rampaging pillow. Ichigo tried bucking her hips, but Kish easily countered that by shifting some of his weight over onto her butt, which immobilized her hips.

When Ichigo tried flailing her arms again, Kish stopped bombarding her back with pillows and held her arms down with both of his own. He leant down and whispered in her ear, "Had enough Kitty-Cat?"

Turning her head toward his voice, Ichigo said, "That's not fair!"

"What's not fair?"

"We need to start again. This time from opposite ends of the room with equal amounts of pillows. Now get OFF me!"

Leaning down, Kish whispered in her ear, "What if I don't _want _to?"

"Don't be like that. I want to play, so get off me and get ready."

Suddenly annoyed, Kish asked, "Don't you have anything better to do, than to bug me?"

"No."

"Too bad," rolling off Ichigo, Kish slid under the covers and turned his back on Ichigo.

"Huh?" Ichigo turned to face Kish's back.

"Go back to your room."

"No."

"Go now," Kish's voice rose vaguely.

"You can't make me."

With amazing speed, Kish flipped Ichigo onto her back. Pinning her, he growled, in _my _house, _you _do what _I _say. Is that clear?"

Looking at Kish's bared fangs in fear, Ichigo quickly agreed.

"Obey _my_ orders in _my_ house. Do NOT order me around or _else_…" Kish saw Ichigo start to return to her regular nature and open her mouth to retort. Before any sound could escape, Kish bared his fangs and growled menacingly, causing her to shake in fear. "Got it?"

Ichigo nodded numbly and Kish spun her off his bed and onto the floor.

"Oof," Ichigo landed hard on the bare floor.

"Get out," a voice growled.

Ichigo scrambled up and raced out the door, making sure to close it tightly.

'_What just happened!_

_I don't know._

_I mean, one second he was playing around, the next he almost killed me._

_Maybe it has something to do with him being an alien and all._

_Maybe…_

_Hey!_

_What?_

_Aren't you forgetting something!_

…_that I'm kidnapped and should be trying to escape not try to figure out what's up with Kish?_

_Other than that!_

_Ummmmm……_

_Pink, furry, _flying FRIEND!

_Masha! Oh my god! I can't believe that I forgot about Masha!_

_Some friend you are._

_Hey! You're me, so if _I'm_ not a good friend, then _you_ aren't either!_

_Well, _I_ didn't forget about Masha._

_Why didn't you tell me up till now, then?_

_I THOUGHT YOU ALREADY KNEW!_

… _I'm the bad friend, not you…but I am you! _You_ are what _I_ am. So if _I'm_ a bad friend, SO ARE YOU!_

_Well then… we got to work together, _if_ we want to save Masha _and _get out of here alive._

_Ok._

_At least we agree on _something.

_Yeah…I guess.'_

* * *

"Keii-kun?" 

"What is it, Zaku-chan?" Keiichiro asked from beside her.

Zakuro turned in the bed, to face Keiichiro. "Do you think that Ichigo and Masha are OK?"

"I…"

"Keii-kun!"

"Sorry babe…but I can't be sure and I don't want to say things that may not be true."

"I understand, but just tell me what I want to hear."

"I want Ichigo to know that we all love her and Masha and that she has the power to defeat Kish once and for all."

Zakuro smiled, her blue eyes shining. "Keii, you always know what to say to make me feel better."

Keiichiro smiled, "That's what boyfriends are for."

Zakuro laughed softly for the first time since Ichigo had gotten kidnapped, the lovely sound echoing repeatedly through Keiichiro's head. "Later when we get up, let's get over to the café and continue looking."

"No Zakuro. You need to heal first. I know that finding Ichigo is important, but so are you. I don't want your condition to get any worse."

Understanding what Keiichiro was saying, Zakuro reluctantly agreed, "…Ok."

Keiichiro pulled himself closer to Zakuro, until he could feel her warm body pressed against his.

She rested her head on his chest. "I'm so worried about Ichigo and Masha. What if they're already dead? What if Kish is torturing them? What if…" her voice trailed off as tears moistened Keiichiro's chest.

"No, Zakuro, don't think such horrid thoughts. We'll find them…we will…we really will…" Keiichiro lifted Zakuro's chin and briefly connected their lips, then he trailed his nose up to her forehead and kissed her there as well. Replacing her head, and resting his chin on it, he whispered, "Ichigo _is _safe, and on that I swear.

_

* * *

Drrriiiiiiinnnnnnnngg! Drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngg!_

_Drrriiiiiiinnnnnnnngg! Drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngg! _

_Drrriiiiiiinnnnnnnngg! Drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngg! _

_Drrriiiiiiinnnnnnnngg! Drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngg! _

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Struggling over to the phone and picking it up, she spoke, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me Zakuro."

"Hi, Zakuro, what's up?"

"Retasu! How can you stand not looked for Ichigo? I mean I bugged Keii so much, about looking for Ichigo and Masha. Then…he cheered me up by saying something which I can't remember. But, now he's gone and I'm anxious again. What about you?"

"Well, I'm sorry, that I'm not looked for her but, I just woke up, like half an hour ago."

"Really? You just woke up at…7:16? Wow, I was up all night with Keii."

"Sorry, I mean Ryou woke me up. Sorry, I forgot to mention that…sorry."

"Chill. It's doesn't matter…so…is Ryou still there? Did he spend the night? Give me all the goods."

"…Actually, I slept over at his place, and we just got back 5-10 minutes ago."

"Oooooooo. _Reta and Ryou sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby carriage. _It's ok Retasu; I won't get into the fun stuff…_yet_."

"…Thanks…I guess…"

"RETASU!"

"Za—"

"Duty calls, eh, Reta?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'll call you back…sorry."

"Don't worry, I understand."

"Sorry again…ok, bye."

"Bye babe. Have fun."

"'K, bye," Retasu hung up the phone and turning, started staggering back towards Ryou, grimacing with each step she took.

"Who was it?" asked Ryou from Retasu's bed.

"Zakuro."

"What was she saying?"

"About Ichigo…," Retasu went painfully slowly towards the small bed and sat down beside Ryou. "Ryou…I'm worried, over Ichigo's well-being."

"Retasu, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"Well, she could be being…raped right now…or maybe…he already…k-k," her voice hitched in her throat.

Ryou took her hand, "Retasu, don't think like that, it'll make you give up on her, and that'll make you sad…I don't like it when you cry."

Tears returned to her eyes, "I'm sorry, Ryou…I can't help it."

"I understand," Ryou ran a frustrated hand through his short, blond hair.

Resting her head on his shoulder, Retasu said, "Ryou…I'm tired."

Ryou glancing over at Retasu and saw silent tears travelling down her cheeks. Ryou shifted them both around until they faced each other. He used his index finger to brush her hair away from her face, and softly raising her chin he gently wiped her tears away. He pulled a little closer and whispered, "Please don't cry, if you're tired, be my guest and lie down. Don't worry; I'll be right there next to you."

Retasu could feel his fresh mint-flavoured breath softly brushing her face. She drew a little closer, when suddenly, a knock on the door made her jump, and clutch her wounded tummy.

Looking up at Ryou apologetically, Retasu called, "Who is it?"

"Hunny, I'm sorry to bug you, but…I need to use your comb."

Retasu lazily got up, and went to her desk. There she picked up a new-looking comb, and walked to the door.

Opening it revealing a tall woman with soft grey eyes. Long green hair stretched to her knees, shining brilliantly in the strong sunlight. She was dressed in black hip-huggers and a baby blue t-shirt. "Hunny…why are you crying?" concern suddenly etched itself in Mrs. Midorikawa's gentle face.

"Here mom and…it's nothing…really," Retasu reassured, forcing a smile.

"Ok, thanks Reta. I really needed this, my comb…well I can't find it. Thanks hun."

"You're welcome mom."

Mrs. Midorikawa walked away as Retasu closed the door. "Sorry Ryou…it was my mom."

"It's ok."

Retasu started crying again, "Do you think I should tell my parents about…"

"No, because then they'll object to you hanging out with us."

Retasu just nodded as she went to her bed and lay down. Ryou lay down beside her and hugged her. "We'll find them…we will…"

Soon the two were asleep.

* * *

'_Masaya…_

_What about him?_

_Should I tell him?_

_Tell him what?_

_About my powers and about…Kish._

_NO! You want to tell him that you have freaky powers, and that some alien from outer space kidnapped Ichigo? Are you mad?_

_Mad about him, yeah._

_No, I mean: ARE YOU CRAZY? Do you actually think that Masaya will believe you? Do you honestly believe that he will believe and accept the fact that his girlfriend _and _all her little friends have superpowers that came out of nowhere, making them stronger than himself? Do you think he will believe that an _alien, _an _ALIEN _came from outer space and kidnapped the "_leader of a team of girls with superhuman strength and powers?" _Do you think he will believe all that "_crap?_"_

…_but…it's true…_

_I know, but he is a regular human with—believe it or not—_no_ powers. He will think that you watch too much TV._

…_but…I want him to know…and I hate lying to him…_

_You have to wait a while. I know it seems harsh, but otherwise, he'll think you're crazy. _

_Ok…_

_Don't cry! Please! I know it's hard to keep secrets from loved ones, but don't cry._

_Too late sniff sniff'_

"Minto!" Masaya called as he was led to her room yet again by her Grandma.

'_There he is! Smile and stop crying.'_

"Minto?" He asked when he got to her room and saw that she was crying _again_.

"Hi…" a sob racked her body, causing her to pause. "Masaya…how are…ya…hun?"

Masaya went to Minto and kneeling in front of her, he began to talk. "I'm fine, but you're not. Look Minto, crying isn't going to heal you so that you can find Ichigo. You have to suck it up and let your body concentrate on healing itself, not having to provide you with all that water that you're crying out. Crying will never get you anywhere! If anything, crying is _slowing down_ your recovery—doing the exact opposite of what you need right now—please Minto…I know she was your friend, but you can't do this to yourself…"

'_That's not the only reason why I'm crying. _

_Well, you can't tell him the other reason._

_Why not?_

_We've been over this before, because, he's not ready for it, and the other Mews probably don't want Masaya knowing that they're freaks._

_Hey! We're not freaks! We save people when we could be relaxing and watching TV for God's sakes!_

_Well, I don't think you're freaks, but I know that Masaya would think so._

_Ok…ok, I won't tell him the other reason._

_Good. Remember you've doing everyone a favour._

_Ok…'_

"But what can I do? When we're not doing anything…I tend to get very emotional." Minto said, drying her tears.

"Well…we can…start looking for Ichigo."

"But where? That's the problem; she could be on the other side of the world by now. We can't look there! She can be right under our noses and we could spend our whole lives looking and we would _never_ find her! Now _you_ tell me Masaya, where should we look?"

"…"

"And there's the fact that that we still have to heal. How are we gunna find them when we're injured?"

"Who's _we_?"

"…no one, I'm just used to saying we more than I," Minto said, looking at her hands.

"Minto, don't lie to me. I can tell when you're lying or not. Who else is injured?"

'_Good job Minto! Now look what you did!_

_What _I _did? How is it _my_ fault? _You_ were thinking about the other Mews' injuries! If you've already forgotten: OUR MINDS AND THOUGHTS ARE INTERLINKED! You made me say it._

_Hey I don't control what comes out of _your_ mouth!"_

"Minto? Still there?"

'_Ok, ok, what do I say?_

…_you're cat story was pretty dumb._

_Well, at least it worked. What do I say _now?

…_I dunno…someone who has a good reason to get hurt…PURIN!_

_Ohmigod! I didn't visit Purin in the hospital!_

_You can't, that's why. You can't walk, remember?_

_Oh yeah…ok so what do I say?_

_You say that…she was at the park…playing with—no—playing on the top beam support of the swing set and she thought she heard Ichigo, and while she was looking…she fell—_

_Masaya has seen Purin at the park—he knows how good her balance is. He won't believe that she just fell._

_Ok, ummmm…she was—'_

"Earth to Minto! Hello, anybody there?"

'_Hurry up!_

_Ok, she was playing on the upper beam support of the swing set and a boy was climbing up on a dare to walk across…and when Purin was looking for a supposedly heard Ichigo—_

_What!_

_She thought she heard Ichigo remember?_

_Oh…_

_Keep up! So while Purin was distracted, looking for Ichigo—she didn't notice the boy and…he pushed her off because…he was really scared and he just wanted to get his dare over with._

_Purin has sense—she would try and grab the bar!_

_Well the boy was still there and she didn't want to risk hurting him._

_She would've tried grabbing a swing!_

_There were people on the swings._

_Ok, but Purin _always_ lands on her feet, you know that! getting hysterical_

…_ok…when she was falling, while trying to turn upright, her leg—no, her knee—got caught in the chain of a swinging swing. She fell; her leg, up on the chain, broke as she hangs in the air in pain._

_PERFECT! Man I love you!_

_Meaning technically that you love yourself?_

_YEAH!'_

"Minto! Can you hear me?"

"Huh? Oh, hi Masaya."

"What happened? I thought I lost you there."

"Oh. I was…lost in the misery of my friend's injuries."

"What happened to her—him—your friend? Which friend?"

"It was Purin."

"What happened to her?" Masaya asked seriously.

Minto explained the whole story of how Purin broke her knee to him in great detail, making sure that she looked terribly sad. When she finished her tale, Masaya's face was that of pure horror.

"Who would do that to a little girl?"

"Ummm, that little boy would. See, boys—most boys—are stupid dumbasses."

"…gotta agree with you there."

"I mean, who _pushes someone from a high UNSTABLE surface_? I mean on the ground is one thing, but on an elevated _beam_? Are they mentally unstable or something?"

"Hunny, I already agreed with you."

"I know but I'm letting my anger out. You tell me: _Are they retarded?"_

"Hunny, don't push it."

"If you want me to shut up, just say so."

"Ok hunny, shut up."

"Ok."

"Thank you."

"So…are you going to visit Purin in the hospital and give her flowers from me? I mean, since I can't walk and all?"

"…"

"Please?"

"Ok, I guess, since you're apparently unable to walk."

"Thank you so much, hunny!" Minto leaned forward and hugged Masaya.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Masaya said, hugging her back. "So…when should I go?"

"Ummmmm…Minto pulled away to glance at her clock. "Visiting hours are over. Go tomorrow—no tomorrow is Saturday. This hospital is closed to visitors on weekends. Go on Monday."

"When are visiting hours?"

"1p.m.—4p.m."

"Ok, I'll go. And I'll take flowers."

"Tell her that all of us love her."

"I will"

"Thanks baby."

"Anytime hunny, anytime."

**End Chapter**

* * *

**guyzz plz forgive me for taking so long**

**i didn't mean it **

**i promise that i will have the next chapterz in soon**

**i swear that it wont take as long to get hte next chapterz in**

**sso SORRY**

**-lil angel**


	7. Technicalities and Hospital Visits

**Chapter 7-Technicalities and Hospital Visits (On Monday)**

"Masha's _got _to be around here _somewhere_," Ichigo muttered to herself as she scoured the games floor (4th floor) for any sign of Masha. She had searched over the weekend and had managed to complete the search of the 5th, 6th and 7th floors. It had turned up nothing of use.

Kish silently stepped into the boys' games room where Ichigo was searching underneath the pool table.

"There is so much crap under this table," Ichigo muttered.

"Nope I don't think that he's here."

"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!" Ichigo jumped as she screamed, bumping her head on the table.

"What is it? Saw a spider?"

"Kish!!! Don't do that!!!! You scared me."

"It's rude to raid your host's mansion behind their back."

"Well, it's rude to kidnap someone and not give them back."

"If, you'd ask…"

Ichigo sighed, "What do you want Kish?"

"I want you to go eat…you haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Why do you care?"

"Because, I don't want anymore dead bodies lying around my house."

"Any_more_?"

"Oh, don't you know? Well, your fur ball is in need of serious medical—technical attention."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "M-Masha's…dead?"

"You could say that…but technically speaking, he's a robot. Robots don't die. They…get ruined or break."

"I'm not eating until I get him back."

"You are going to eat first. Then I will consider giving him back to you."

"NO! Give him to me_then_ I eat."

Kish looked amused, "I take it that you _don't_ want that fur ball back? I could keep it you know, it would serve as a souvenir of pathetic earthling technology."

"Ok, ok, I get it. I have to eat first."

"Good."

"But, I'm lost. Lead me to the kitchen." When Kish didn't respond, she added: "Onegai?"

Suddenly, Kish smirked. "Come." Leading the way, he said, "I'm a little hungry too, work some magic and make me something for breakfast, too."

"Ok, but you have to answer a question."

"Bargaining are we?"

Ichigo grinned, "You could say that…but technically speaking, it's a deal; breakfast in exchange for Masha and some answers."

Kish smirked, "Starting to talk like me, eh?"

Ichigo shrugged, "I saw no other way, if you can't beat them, join them."

"What's you question, neko?"

"My question is: what happened on Friday? Why did you get all mad when I didn't listen to you, or when I "ordered" you around?"

"Oh, I wasn't in the mood to have a pillow fight.

"Oh…that explains everything."

"Were you worried about me?"

"…"

Kish burst out laughing.

"What?" Ichigo demanded, pouting.

"You humans…you're too much!!"

"What's so funny?"

"You worry about your enemy?"

"…so?"

"It just strikes me as a little weird. Well, actually extremely weird."

'_Phew, he was just in a bad mood. I was worried it would happen a lot. But it's just when he's annoyed,' _Ichigo thought relieved. "What do you want to eat?"

Kish had stopped laughing but his golden eyes still held several hints of laughter and playfulness. "Whatever you can dish out. I don't really care."

Ichigo was so hungry that she didn't' bother wasting time on making something fancy to eat. "Ok, let's eat cereal then."

"Whatever you say, just as long as you don't worry about my well being," Kish mocked innocently.

"Hey! Shut up!!" Ichigo decided not to tell him that the real reason she was worried was because she didn't want it happening again. Ichigo set out the cereal and began eating. She was soon joined by an equally hungry cyniclon.

After the meal, Ichigo washed the dishes and picked up the cereal and milk. "Now Kish," she said while returning the cereal to the cupboard and the milk to the fridge. She closed the fridge door and turned around to find an empty kitchen. "Man!! He ran off!!!" Ichigo grumbled as she went to the front foyer and found a grand staircase—but no Kish. "Kish!!!"

Kish leapt from the second floor railing, directly above Ichigo. He landed so close to her that his foot was in between both of hers.

Surprised, Ichigo lost her balance, her arms reached up instinctively, to try to grab onto something. She caught hold of Kish who quickly leaned down and wrapped his arms around her to support her weight.

'_Déjà vu,' _Ichigo thought.

His face a mere inch from her own, he spoke, "You called?"

Staring up into deep, majestic golden orbs, Ichigo's cheeks burned furiously.

Still leant down, Kish thought, _'If I still liked her as much as I used to before she killed Tarto and Pai, I would kiss her right now.' _"Neko," Kish smirked when she tensed, he whispered, "May I be of service?"

"I…" his deep golden depths were pulling her in. She relaxed her body and allowed herself to be drawn in.

Her eyes closed, she was so close to him now that, she could practically feel the static between their skin. It seemed to burn her lips.

'_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!?!!?!'_

Her eyes snapped open.

'_What?_

_YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SAVING MASHA NOT KISSING KISH!!!!_

_We're not kissing!!!!!_

_YET!! You're lips were going to connect any second now.'_

She saw Kish's eyes right in front of her face, looking at her with curiosity filling his gaze. She moved her eyes down a bit and saw that their lips were so close together that if either were to speak, their lips would meet. His mouth was ever so slightly open that Ichigo bet that even a spoon, with its thin tip would have difficulty getting in.

Ichigo dropped back.

'_Good, now ask for Masha._

_I'm working on it but my mouth won't move._

_Oh, so it could move on account of Kish, but not Masha?_

_Shut up!_

_Why?_

_So that I can ask for Masha._

_Are you sure you're up to it or is Kish too tempting for you?'_

Staring at the smooth skin of his lips, she stuttered, "M-M-Ma…sha."

"Masha? Come," he gracefully stood her up again and let go of her. Thinking of what had just happened; Kish said no more than what he could.

'_Why does she choose now? Now—_after_ she kills my companions and now that I am angry with her?? Why not when everyone was alive and I was still obsessed with her? Why NOW???' _These were the thoughts that had stopped Kish from kissing Ichigo back. Making up his mind, he decided that he would try to win her over. What better situation than with her, alone in a huge mansion? _'Next time she comes close enough, I _will_ kiss her. No holding back. I will do whatever I think I need to, to win her over. She _will_ be mine. After the way she murdered Tarto and Pai, that is the only way that I will be able to fully forgive her. She _will_ be mine.' _Kish repeated his silent vow to himself. Ichigo would learn to love him the way he had loved her. They _would_ be together.

"I have another question…" came a low voice.

Kish smiled inwardly, _'Back to her regular annoying nature I see.' _"Go on Ichi-chan."

"Umm…I was wondering…if…"

"If…?"

Gathering her courage, Ichigo finished the question, "if Kish was you're real name. I mean Kish—yeah, but is it a short form of something else?"

"It's a short form of Kisshu."

"I love the sound of it!! Why did you shorten it?"

"Training, they wanted short easy-to-remember names. For example: Kisshu changed into Kish. Pai…well stayed Pai, and Tarto changed into Tart."

"Wow! What kind of training?"

"All sorts." Kish walked into his room and made his way over to the closet labeled _"For Him." _He opened the door and gazed up. There were three rows of shelves spaced out, one above the other.

'_I didn't bother looking up there on the top two shelves, they looked empty.' _Ichigo thought, realizing her mistake.

"On the top shelf Kitty-Cat. Can you do it yourself? Or do you require further assistance?" Kish purred mockingly.

Ichigo attempted jumping to try to reach it. She grabbed the first shelf and tried to lift herself up. She got her chin to rest on the shelf, then attempted to lift up her leg. She swung her leg up, but it missed the shelf and Ichigo lost her grip. She fell sideways towards the ground. "KISSHHH!!!!!!"

Kish stepped up and caught her easily in his arms. He hugged her tightly and leaned down to whisper, "Your safe now my little neko.

Ichigo felt the blood rushing up to colour her face and attempted to get out of his firm grasp. "Let go of me!"

"Make me," Kish replied playfully.

Ichigo wrapped both her arms around Kish's neck and pulled his face down toward hers. "You let go of me this instant, or else…" she hissed.

Kish smirked, "Or else what?" he spoke softly because of their closeness.

Ichigo narrowed her eyes as she searched her brain for an answer. "Or I'll scream," was the answer that came through Ichigo's lips.

Kish's smirk grew, "Did you already forget? There's no one else in this house," His face came closer to that of the enraged Mew's.

Ichigo blinked. "Oh yeah…but that doesn't stop me." Ichigo used her hand to bring Kish's head even farther down so that his face was buried in her chest. His elongated ear was right next to her mouth.

Taking in Ichigo's scent from her chest, Kish said, "This is a nice change of—" Kish's words were cut off by a loud scream right next to his ear. His hands immediately flew out from around Ichigo to cover his ears.

Ichigo felt the alien yank his arms away from around her to protect himself from her piercing scream. Her job done, Ichigo stopped screaming and thought about the pressure that just a moment ago was being applied to her chest by his face. _'That must have been his dream come true, instead of having to force himself onto me; I force his face into my breasts…at least I got him off me.'_

Rubbing his ears, Kish frowned at her then unexpectedly he grinned, "I guess that was the _'or else' _part."

"Can you go get Masha for me now?"

Kish jumped up and landed in a crouching position on the top shelf. He picked up a dysfunctional Masha and leapt back down. "Is this what you've been looking for?"

Ichigo gasped in shock. "What did you do to him?" Masha's regular pink colour had drained away when he (a/n for lack of a better word) broke. A once bright, lively Masha now resembled a dusty grey, disfigured pillow.

"Well, he couldn't handle life without you." Kish sneered, then he looked at Ichigo as she sniffed. "Crying _again? _If it means so much to you, I could fix it." Kish offered

Ichigo looked up hopefully and placed Masha into Kish's outstretched hand. "Arigato Kisshu-kun," she wiped away her tears.

Kish raised one eyebrow in silent question and brought down his tools from the second shelf. He exited the closet and set his items down against the side of his monstrous bed, then he returned to face Ichigo. "In payment, you owe me a kiss," Kish smirked at her taken aback expression and stuck his cheek out to her.

Ichigo hesitated. "What if I don't?"

"Then Masha doesn't get fixed."

Ichigo sighed. She put her hand around his chin to his other cheek to bring his face closer to hers, then she leaned in and planted her lips on his cheek. She marvelled in the smoothness and warmth of his face. After a while, she pulled herself away from his alluring skin.

Kish looked back at her smiling. "I was expecting a quick peck, but that was much more satisfying." Before she knew what he was doing, he had kissed her on the same spot on her cheek for the same amount of time.

Too stunned to pull away, Ichigo let him kiss her cheek. For what seemed like an eternity, Ichigo felt smooth lips connected to her cheek, painting it a deep crimson.

Before retreating, Kish whispered in her ear, "I thought you should know how it felt."

When Ichigo looked up, he was working away at Masha. Ichigo saw him start to open up her mechanical friend and went into the closet labeled _"For Her."_ She browsed through the hundreds of outfits with only her troubled thoughts to accompany her.

'_He kissed me…_

_You liked it!_

_Did not!!_

_Who are you trying to convince?_

_Humph…it was only on the cheek…_

_Is that a good thing or a bad thing?_

_A little bit of both…_

_HAH!! See, I knew it! You liked it!_

_Well, I've never been kissed before by any boy other than my dad. So…I think I have the right to decide whether I liked it or not.'_

Before these thoughts could assault Ichigo again, she shoved them into a back corner of her mind. _'These clothes are so pretty!'_

Ichigo ended up walked out of the closet ten minutes later wearing a short crimson skirt, a matching tank-top and a fur-collared, fur cuffed mesh robe on top.

When she stepped out and walked over to where Kish was working on Masha, she saw that he was closing Masha up. When Masha was completely shut, grey turned to pink and when Masha saw Ichigo, he barrelled into her, happy to see her again.

"Masha miss Ichigo! Masha miss Ichigo!!"

"I missed you too."

Kish stood and cleared his throat; Ichigo looked up, tears of happiness gracing her cheeks. Ichigo charged at Kish with her arms spread. Her arms wrapped around his figure; the impact of her body against his knocking him backwards onto the bed. This didn't affect Ichigo as she buried her face into his chest and cried, "Thank you Kisshu-kun!! I'll never forget this!!!!"

* * *

"Zaku-chan, I'll be right back," Keiichiro said as he left to go to the bathroom.

"Ok, Keii-kun," deciding she wanted to surprise him, Zakuro got up. She had been practicing walking with Keiichiro, slowly but surely her steps had gotten steadier. Yesterday, she had been able to walk by herself, though her bandages had gotten soaked with blood, she was still proud of herself. Her wounds had gotten much better then Friday, but they still bled. Zakuro walked to her closet and decided to wear a baggy top to cover up her wounds. She took out her favourite pair of blue jeans and carefully pulled them on. She also found a plain red t-shirt that went half-way to her knees. '_This will do,'_ she thought as she changed her shirt. She stood in front of her full length mirror and thought, _'Wow, I look good for an injured person not wearing any makeup.' _

She heard the toilet flush, the tap running and the door open.

"Zakuro?"

"How do I look?" Zakuro asked, stepping into view.

"Amazing."

Zakuro grinned, "Thanks, I know. Keii, you're ready right?"

"Hai."

"Ok, let's go to the hospital and pay Purin a visit."

"Sure. You want to take Retasu and Ryou?"

"Of course, but what about Minto and Masaya?"

"Well, Minto called earlier and told me her situation. Masaya doesn't know about the Mew Mews, their injuries _or_ Kish. Minto said that she wants to keep it that way. She told Masaya that she got her cuts from cats and that Purin broke her leg at the park."

"I see. But I thought that Ichigo liked Masaya."

"Yeah…but it turns out that _Masaya_ liked Minto, not Ichigo."

"That'll break her heart."

"Well, I'm afraid that's life."

"…I'll call Retasu."

"Ok, I'll whip up a quick lunch."

"Arigato," Zakuro went over to the phone and dialed Retasu's number.

_Drriiinnnnnnnnnngg! Drriiinnn—_

"Hello?" spoke a masculine voice.

"Ryou?" Zakuro asked.

"Hai," he replied.

"Hi, it's Zakuro."

"Oh, hi Zakuro. Is it important? Retasu and I were just going to get up and get ready to go to visit Purin in the hospital."

"What a coincidence. So were me and Keii."

"Oh, ok."

"I called to ask if you two wanted to join us."

"That'd be great! How long are you giving us to get ready?"

"Half an hour."

"We'll be ready. So it that all?"

"Hai."

"'K, tell Keiichiro that I said hi"

"Ok, bye, you two better be ready when we get there."

"We will, bye."

Zakuro put down the phone and walked into the kitchen. "Ryou said hi and we're going to pick them up in half an hour."

"Oh, well hi to him too, by then we'll be done our lunch."

Zakuro smiled lightly and began eating the meal set in front of her.

* * *

"Retasu! We have half an hour to get ready. I recommend that you get up."

"Morning already?" Retasu asked as she got up and stretched.

"Hai, wow you're really healing well."

Retasu smiled at Ryou, "Thanks to your help. Who called?"

"Zakuro."

"What did she say?"

"She said that we have half an hour to get ready. She and Keiichiro are going to pick us up and we're going to go to visit Purin together."

"Oh, gomen, I never knew that." Retasu said, getting up and making her way to the bathroom.

"Don't worry about it. Here I'll make us sandwiches. You get ready. Call if you need anything."

"Ok."

In twenty minutes, sandwiches were made and Retasu stepped out of the washroom wearing baggy army print jeans and a long grey t-shirt.

"You look good," Ryou commented when Retasu stepped into the kitchen.

Smiling, she thanked him and sat down across from him at the table. He had already finished eating his sandwiches.

Just as she took a bite, the doorbell rang.

Before Retasu could get up, Ryou was already heading toward the doorway.

Retasu smiled to herself and continued eating.

"RETASU!!" Zakuro called.

"HI ZAKURO," Retasu called back, getting a sandwich bag to put her sandwiches in.

"HURRY UP!!"

"COMING!!" Retasu hurriedly took the sandwiches (in the bag) and went to the door, where she put on her shoes and telling a ready Ryou to hold her sandwiches, she slipped into her jacket. "Let's go," she said taking her lunch back from Ryou.

"Alright," Ryou said as he closed and locked the door behind everyone.

* * *

Minto sighed and glanced at the clock; 3:06. She couldn't go visit Purin because her Grandma wouldn't allow her to. Masaya was going for her. But he couldn't go with the other Mews still there. He would see their bandages and ask what happened. Then he would come to her and ask why she hadn't told him. She couldn't have that happening. She had already called Purin and told her about Masaya, the "cats," the "park" and about the fact that he knew nothing of the Mews and how they really got their wounds.

Retasu had promised to call when they got back.

'_Come on! It takes half an hour to get there, if you don't call soon, visiting hours will be over by the time Masaya gets there!!'_

As if on cue:

_Drriiinnnnnnnnnngg! Drriiinnn—_

Minto grabbed the phone and began speaking, "About time you called!!"

"Sorry Minto. We lost track of time."

Minto sighed, "I could never stay mad at you. Ok, thanks for calling."

"No problem."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Minto put down the phone thinking, _'Thank god they called.' _"Masaya, I've got it! Get her yellow lilies."

"Ok."

"Hurry now before visiting hours are over."

"'K, bye hun."

"Bye."

* * *

A knock on her door woke her up. "Come in," she called.

"Hi Purin. How are you feeling?" Masaya asked.

She had bandages wrapped around her head from its impact with the ground and a band-aid on her cheek. The cast on her leg had scratch marks on it; her skin was pale and her hair was limp.

Catching Masaya eyeing her cast, she explained, "It is awfully itchy in there. And I'm fine other than the fact that I have a busted leg and scratched cheek. Not to mention that my head is killing me."

Minto had called her and explained about Masaya and the "park incident."

"Here, these are flowers from Minto. She told me to give them to you."

Minto had also told her about the "cat episode." "Tell her I love them! They're beautiful!!" Purin took the flowers from Masaya's outstretched hand and added them to a vase with flowers from the others on the bedside table. "How is Minto?"

"Well, she's very worried about you, and about…Ichigo…" Masaya's voice trailed off thinking about the bright girl that had a crush on him.

"Iie, I mean her injuries. From the cats…?"

"Oh, they're healing nicely, now that she doesn't cry that much."

"What about the other—," Purin stopped herself, remembering that Minto had also told her that Masaya knew nothing of the Mew Mews and their injuries. Purin knew that Minto intended to keep it that way, at least for now.

"The other…? What is it? Is something troubling you?"

"The other…kid? The boy who pushed me?" I fell unconscious through all the pain and…" Purin did a fake shudder. "I don't know if he made it. Did he fall? Is he okay?"

"I'm sorry Purin. I don't know. Minto told me that everyone crowded around you and nobody paid any attention to the boy."

"Oh…" Purin felt strange lying to Masaya, but she knew she couldn't tell him the truth.

A nurse poked her head in and said, "Sir, visiting hours are over, could you please finish up?"

"Yeah, sure. Just one more minute please."

"Ok sir," said the nurse, stepping out of the room.

"Just one more thing Minto wanted me to tell you. She wanted me to tell you that we all love you."

Tears formed in Purin's eyes, not just because of what he's said, but also because of the fact that every single one of her friends had visited except for Minto who was not allowed to go due to injuries and the one friend who couldn't come, even if she wanted to; Ichigo. "Arigato Masaya-san and…bye."

Masaya smiled sadly, "Bye and get well soon," with that, he left.

**End Chapter**

* * *

* * *

**well therez the next chapter**

**plzz review **

**thxx**

**g2g**

**hope u enjoyed the chapter**

**tell me what u think of my extended vacation--even tho im very sorry about it...**

**lolz**

**ill think twice then abbout takin a long break**

**thxxx**

**bye**

**xoxoxoxo**

**-lil angel**


	8. Hurtful Words and Boredom

**Chapter 8-Hurtful Words and Boredom**

Ichigo sat with her knees pulled up to her chin in Kish's room. She was looking out the window at the vast grounds. _'I got Masha back. I wonder when I get to go back home…Kish is being so nice to me. I wonder why? I thought he hated me for…killing Tarto and Pai. I wish I could go back in time and change that so that they were still alive.'_

Kish entered his bedroom to see Ichigo sitting at the window, gazing out, deep in thought. Her features seemed to be troubled. _'I wonder what she is thinking about…' _He went over to his bed and plopped down noisily. Ichigo didn't notice. She sat in an almost disheartened posture, looking out the window. _'The sunlight reflects off her hair so perfectly…' _

Ichigo knew that Kish had come into his room. She knew that he was behind her watching her, but she would not move. She felt so bad about what she had done that she couldn't bear to face him. Gathering up her strength, she spoke softly, "Gomen…"

Kish wouldn't have heard had it not been for his advanced hearing. His ears twitched at the regretful words. These were the last words he had expected to hear from the powerful leader of the Mews. _'This is strange…'_

Ichigo couldn't hold it back anymore. She put her head down, resting it on her knees; and sobbed. She couldn't understand why she was crying. It wasn't her friends that had been brutally murdered by someone that she cared deeply for and his friends. She felt so bad that it ate away at her insides; her body shook from the effort of trying to hold back her tears.

Kish was surprised. He hadn't expected the leader of the Mews to break down and start crying in front of him, putting herself in a very vulnerable situation. Kish teleported himself so that he was crouching in front of the weeping Mew, he looked at her and blinked. On a sudden impulse, he wrapped his arms around the crying girl. She immediately leaned into him; her only source of comfort at the moment. He could feel her face pressed up against his chest, and he saw her lean onto him as much as she could; pressing to get closer to the comfort he provided. "It's ok, I forgive you…" Kish knew now that he loved everything that the cat-girl did, everything except for crying. No matter what happened, he couldn't stand to see the girl cry. "Stop crying…onegai," Kish did his best to sooth the girl.

Not being able to forgive herself for committing such a crime, she could not at all see why Kish forgave her so willingly. 'No! I don't deserve to be forgiven! No! I don't deserve it! Tomare Kisshu-kun! TOMARE!!!!' Ichigo yanked Kish's arms off of her and stood up so suddenly that Kish fell backwards. Glaring down at the alien's surprised face she began screaming. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I know that you're mad at me for killing Tarto and Pai! Stop faking it! I know that you want to kill me! I don't deserve to be comforted! Tomare! TOMARE!!!!" With that, Ichigo fled to her room, sobbing uncontrollably. 

Kish sat confused at the girl's strange behaviour. _'I wonder what's wrong…' _Kish got up and headed toward Ichigo's door. He reached for the doorknob but his hand stopped short when he heard the girl trying to muffle her crying. _'She doesn't want me to think that she is weak.'_ Kish realized. Kish dropped his hand. _'But I don't want her to cry…' _Again his hand reached up for the doorknob. _'Iie; I could not help before. I will not be able to help now.' _Kish retreated to his bed. Lying down with his head resting on his hands, he looked up at the ceiling worriedly until he fell asleep.

* * *

Ichigo had cried herself to sleep. After she had run away from Kish's comforting arms, she had entered her room, collapsed on her bed and cried; she had cried until she could cry no more. Then, being exhausted, she had fallen asleep almost instantly. Now she was up and it was dark in her room. Her thoughts came rushing back. _'Kish was being so nice to me…I pushed him away. And I shouted at him…Oh no…I feel so bad. What should I do?' _Ichigo noticed that the annoying, sarcastic voice wasn't inputting its opinion this time. Her mind was blank. She didn't know what to do. "What kind of a person am I? I let my temper out on Kisshu-kun—who did so much for me…" Ichigo got up abruptly. _'I _have_ to say sorry.' _She staggered to the door clumsily. Halfway there, she tripped over her foot and fell to the ground in a bundle. She lay there for a while and thought about the little episode that had happened hours ago. _'What if he doesn't forgive me? Then what? How will I live in a house with someone who hates me? I need to get up and apologize…I need to get up…' _Ichigo felt herself start to drift off. She bit her lip to try to stay awake; she couldn't. She fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Morning came and Kish woke up early. After washing up, Kish made up his mind and quietly entered Ichigo's room. He found her lying on the ground. Worry struck Kish at once. He leaned down and examined her. After a moment he sighed in relief, "She's asleep." Kish spoke softly to himself as he gently picked her up and carried her to her large bed. He set her down and sat down beside her. He stroked her peaceful face, feeling the smooth skin of her cheek. Kish saw that the girl subconsciously leaned in to the heat being placed on her cheek. With his fingers tangled in her hair he began thinking to himself. _'She really is sorry that she took them away from me…I don't think that even _I_ can feel that kind of compassion…' _Kish watched as Ichigo's large, brown eyes slowly opened. As soon as she saw him staring down at her with worry, her eyes filled with tears. 

"Kish…" Ichigo sat up and shot into Kish's arms. "Gomen!! I didn't mean to yell at you…I feel so bad, I don't know what to do. I understand if you want me to go… I just want you to forgive me Kissh—"

"Shhh," Kish had wrapped his strong arms around the quivering Mew, "I forgive you. There's no need to cry anymore." Kish tightened his arms around her and murmured reassuring words in the girl's ear. He rested his head on top of her head.

Kish and Ichigo stayed like this for a while. Ichigo was crying into his chest, letting him support her. Finally, Ichigo began to speak. "Arigato Kisshu-kun. I'm so glad that you're here…" she sniffed and hugged Kish tighter.

"I just want you to know that I'll always be here. You can turn to me whenever you need me," Kish replied.

Around ten minutes later, Kish felt Ichigo relax in his arms. He heard her even breathing and concluded that she had fallen asleep. He lifted her gently and laid her in her bed. He was straightening up when he felt something tug at his neck. Kish saw that the Mew's arms were still draped around his neck. He tried to pull apart her arms without waking her up, but her arms were locked tightly around his neck. Knowing what he had to do, Kish lay down next to a sleeping Ichigo. His arms pulled her into him, as he held her protectively against himself. Eventually, he too drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

A week had passed since the battle with Kish and Ichigo had been kidnapped. There had been no word from either Ichigo or Masha. Zakuro was in her room pacing. Keiichiro had left to go to Café Mew Mew. He would be back later on in the day. He had left Zakuro with nothing to do. So, she was in her room, with absolutely nothing to do. "Maybe I should go over to someone's house…no. They're probably busy. I can't go to visit Purin…it's too late…" Getting a sudden idea, Zakuro went over to her computer and decided to look for anything suspicious on the Internet that might lead them to Ichigo. She pulled up a chair and pressed the switch that turned on the computer. The computer started up soundlessly. She went to www.google.ca and searched for "Recent Crimes." A search showed nothing of interest, just your everyday robberies and killings. What she wanted though was anything that could help her find Ichigo. So far there was nothing. She searched for an hour and finally gave up. Zakuro had not noticed one article at the bottom of the page. _"Strange Monsters Attack Hiroshima." _This was the only article that Zakuro needed and the only one that she missed. 

Zakuro grit her teeth. _'I need something to do, or else I'll drive myself crazy! What should I do?' _Zakuro shut off the computer and walked aimlessly into her bedroom. Spotting a book, she grabbed it and lay on the bed, reading it. Eventually her eyelids grew heavy and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ryou heard a sudden sound and woke up; he saw that Retasu lay asleep on her bed and looked around the peaceful room. _'I wonder what it was…' _

_Drrriiiiinnnnnnnnngg drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnggg!!!!_

_Drrriiiiinnnnnnnnngg drrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnggg!!!!_

Ryou dragged himself out of bed and to the phone. He picked up the receiver and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Ryou, it's me Keiichiro. Can you come in today? I don't want to overexert the girls, seeing as they're already injured."

"Sure I can make it, when?"

"Would right now be too much to ask?"

"No, I'll wake Retasu up and I'll get ready, I'll be there in around 45 minutes. Is that okay?"

"Hai, that is fine. See you then."

"Ok." Ryou put the receiver back down onto the cradle. He went back to Retasu's side and shook her gently to wake her up.

Retasu groaned and opened her eyes. "What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"I'm going to Café Mew Mew, I think something is up."

Retasu sat up immediately and said, "I'm coming with you."

"No. You're not coming and you're not to follow me."

Retasu pouted.

Ryou softened, "Gomen, I just want you to get better before you continue work and—" Ryou was cut off. Retasu had leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. His eyes closed and he leaned into the kiss.

When they pulled apart, Retasu spoke, "Ok, you go, I'll stay here." She smiled at his astonished face.

Ryou recovered and smiled back. "Arigato, bye…I'll be back soon."

"Ok."

With that, Ryou turned around and walked out the door and began the walk to Café Mew Mew.

* * *

Minto was pacing in her room. She wanted to do something but nobody would allow her to try to help. Experimenting with how much her legs could do, she attempted to jump across her room. She failed miserably. Her ankles buckled and she fell on her knees in the middle of the room. She lay there for several minutes. 

'_What's the point in getting up again? I have nothing. Ichigo is gone…I doubt that Kish will ever give her back…_

_I don't think that he still loves her…he looked pretty angry when we killed Pai and Tarto._

_Well an obsession like that…it is possible for him to fall back in love with her._

_I wonder what she'll do._

_Well there might be the chance that she and Kish will bond._

…_maybe…I doubt it…she rejected him so far…what makes you think that she'll suddenly change her mind?_

_Everyone wears a mask in public; the mask is what you want people to think about you. Once you're with people that you're comfortable around that mask comes off. Kish is probably not really what we think he is…_

_You mean rude and obnoxious?_

_Hai.'_

Minto got up shakily and walked to her bed. She fell onto the bed and fell asleep thinking about the probability of Kish and Ichigo together.

* * *

"Keiichiro! I'm here." Ryou called as he entered Café Mew Mew. "What is it?" 

"I found something strange on the Internet, but it doesn't make sense, I need your opinion. Gomen if I interrupted anything important," Keiichiro responded.

"No, I wasn't doing anything important." Ryou walked into the back room of Café Mew Mew. "What did you find?"

"Come look at this."

Ryou walked up to the large computer screen. He looked at the web page that Keiichiro had open. It appeared to be a news report that was written down word for word by someone. Ryou read it aloud to himself.

"**Strange Monsters Attack Hiroshima**

This is Sikuya Tirame reporting live in Hiroshima. Strange monsters are _attacking_peoplein Hiroshima. These hideous creatures have already killed 16 people. They began appearing after the battle in which a green haired alien boy kidnapped Mew Ichigo. Now the Mews seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Can they not do anything without their precious leader Mew Ichigo? They did not appear as usual to save the day when these monsters began appearing. The citizens of Hiroshima are in frenzy over the disappearance of the Mew Mews. "When will the Mew Mews save us?" "Where are the Mew Mews?" "Why did the Mew Mews leave us?" Questions such as these are the only things heard in Hiroshima. Mew Mews if you are watching this: Please help the people of Hiroshima! We need you. Back to you Temiku…"

Keiichiro watched as shock registered on Ryou's face.

"Keiichiro, do you know what this means?"

"…"

"All of Japan is in danger. The Mews are unable to fight because they are injured and the monsters will keep on coming and soon they will not only be in Hiroshima but in all of Japan. We have no choice but to tell the girls to go…"

"But that will endanger the girls. I don't think that that's a good idea. I think we should wait until they are better and until then, hope for the best."

"But who will stop the killing in Hiroshima?"

"…Hope for the best."

"But, people are _dying_ and you expect us towait around and _hope for the best?_"

"Ryou, be reasonable, the Mews are in no condition to fight. If they go, they could get injured more, or worse, killed. Is that what you want?"

"…So what do we do?"

"I don't know…I think we might have to find Ichigo soon or else it'll be too late."

"I don't think we'll be able to find her. I think we need a way to communicate with her and tell her what's going on."

"…Shall we do that now?" Keiichiro was already in front of the computer trying to locate the missing Mew.

"I'm kind of hungry. I'm going to get some food. Do you want some?"

"Sure, arigato."

Ryou returned with food and drinks, the two ate then continued to work. They were determined to find some clue to Ichigo and Masha's whereabouts.

**End Chapter**

* * *

hey guys, i'm so sorry that i haven't been able to update in so long. the thing is that the last time i tried, it didn't work. i'm not saying this for an excuse, i'm telling the truth. it never worked. Guys i'm so sorry. i understand if you never want to read another of my stories ever again :( i hope u choose to continue to read my stories though :P 

btw feel free to ask questions, i'll answer them in my next update...i think that should be all for now...

byee guyzz :) muah

-lil angel


	9. New Discoveries and Unfortunate Timing

**Chapter 9-New Discoveries and Unfortunate Timing**

Ichigo woke to find herself comfortably warm. _'I'm so comfortable…I wonder where I am…I'm so warm.' _Ichigo opened her eyes, she found herself staring into darkness. _'Uh oh…am I where I think I am?'_ Ichigo tried moving her arms. They were held together tightly around something warm and smooth. Ichigo felt something like arms around her and something resting on top of her head. Her feet were entangled with someone else's. Ichigo tried to move her head up and failed. Someone grunted sleepily, Ichigo froze.

Kish was woken by something in his arms moving. His golden eyes sleepily opened, but fell back down. Another nudge forced his eyes open. "Five more minutes," he said drowsily and closed his eyes again.

Ichigo heard his sleepy voice above her and tensed. She and Kish were in bed together, hugging each other. Her face coloured quickly, her feline ears and tail popped out.

'_Oh my god! Again!_

_Calm down. It's nothing. I remember what happened._

_What happened?_

_It's a long story._

_Well seeing as Kisshu-kun is asleep; I think you have plenty of time to tell me._

_Sigh No, calm down, concentrate and you'll remember._

_I can't calm down when I'm in bed with an alien!_

_It's not the first time._

_Flustered Shut up and tell me._

_No, calm down, and try to remember._

_Hey, I just realized, why are you so calm? Usually you're the one that is angry and all._

_I'm you're subconscious and I've realized something. _

_Realized what?_

_I can't tell you that._

_Why not?_

_I just can't, now take a deep breath, and count to 10._

_1…2…3…_

_See? It isn't so hard._

_4…5…6…_

_You'll realize when the time is right for you._

_7…8…9…10._

_There, don't you feel better?_

_Calm Yes I do. _

_Now concentrate. You'll remember._

_Concentrating I remember. I was sad, Kisshu comforted me, I ran…he came and comforted me again. That's all I remember._

_That's all there is to remember._

_He's so sweet…so nice to me. But he injured my friends…I don't know what to do…_

_Awww! You have a crush on Kisshu-kun. Ichigo and Kisshu sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby carriage! Awww, how adorable!_

_Shut up! I do _not _have a crush on him!!'_

Ichigo pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She noticed that her ears and tail had disappeared. She felt the looseness of Kish's arms. Her arms were the ones with the tight grasp. In fact, she seemed deeper in Kish's chest than when she had woken up.

She loosened her arms and pulled herself up so that her face was level with the alien boy's. His eyes were shut and his mouth was slightly open. His breathing was even. She leaned her forehead against his and watched him sleep; her arms were still around him, and vice versa. She gazed at him for a while. '_He's looks so…serene…peaceful when he's asleep.'_

A sudden thought assaulted Ichigo; she blushed. _'Just to see what it's like…' _Ichigo began leaning slowly toward Kish's open mouth. As she neared, golden orbs blinked and gazed into cocoa ones inquisitively. Ichigo stared dumbfounded at the large eyes watching her before her face became redder than ever before. She shut her eyes tightly and cringed deeply. She tried to pull away, but she forgot to unhook her arms from around him and ended up dragging Kish along with her in her mad attempt to get away. She pulled too far and fell off the bed with a little shriek. The pair rolled and she ended up on top of Kish. He was now wide-awake and staring up at her looking quite amused.

"Even in your attempts to get away, you cling desperately to me like I'm your life force." His face was in front of hers; he grinned malevolently and licked his lips. "I'm flattered."

Ichigo tried to get up but found that quite hard, seeing as Kish had quietly locked his arms around her so that when she tried to get up; she fell back into him. "I appreciate your early morning affection; it's very…refreshing. You should do this every morning." Kish smirked at her flushed face.

Ichigo tried again to escape his grasp but ended up slamming into him. She stopped and thought about how she could break away from him. She tried to wriggle free; it didn't work. She tried to pull free; again unsuccessful. She tried to slide free; this put her in an even worse situation; before her face had been in front of his and his arms were holding her back. Now, she was cradling his head in her arms and his arms were locked around her butt, pressing her ever closer to the boy. She estimated the distance between her mouth and his ear; he was too far buried in her chest, screaming would do her no good this time. She felt him snuggle into her chest and blushed furiously. _'This is not happening! It isn't!! Oh my god, this can't be happening!!' _Ichigo struggled more, nothing worked; Kish's grip was too strong. _'Ok, I have _got _to calm down or I'll never get out of this. 1…2…3…'_

"Wow Ichigo, such a drastic change in behaviour since last week. I certainly like it." Ichigo could hear the worry that was once radiating from his voice being replaced by triumph and playfulness.

'_4…5…6…'_

Kish breathed in deeply, "You smell so…invigorating."

'_7…8…'_

Kish frowned at the lack of response from the girl. He pulled himself up so that his face was once again in front of hers. He gave her a quizzical look. _'Drastic times call for drastic actions.' _Kish began leaning down.

_'9…'_

_'I'm almost there,'_ Kish thought to himself, _'she hasn't responded yet, strange…'_

'_10.' _

'_The fun begins now!' _Just as Kish approached his target (Ichigo's ear), he was stopped short by a sudden jab in his stomach and small fingers tickling away at him. At first, Ichigo didn't get the right spots and he didn't laugh. After, Ichigo found the right spot and Kish burst out laughing. "Oh yeah?" Kish challenged. His fingers unhooked themselves from around Ichigo.

'_It worked!' _Ichigo thought, overjoyed. She stopped tickling him and got up; what a mistake that was.

Kish seized his opportunity and tackled Ichigo onto the bed. He lay on top of her now and he was tickling her to oblivion.

"Aiiiiiiiiii!!!!" Her girlish scream echoed in the room. Kish watched her face and read it like a book. It told him which way she was going to try to escape next. He obviously countered easily. He also watched her eyes. Determination hardened her eyes even though she was giggling uncontrollably.

Ichigo put her hands forth and found the vulnerable areas on Kish's body. She launched an attack on him. It caused considerable damage. Kish reacted by grabbing her hands and leaning close.

Ichigo took this chance and using her foot, dislodged Kish's hands and vaulted him around so that she was on top. She pinned him and stopped to catch her breath.

Kish smirked up at her, "Looks like the tables have turned."

"Say it," Ichigo gasped out.

"Say what?" Kish asked, trying to pull his head up but failing.

"Say my name."

"Why?"

"Because I won!"

"Not yet," before Ichigo had a chance to respond, Kish blew at Ichigo.

"Hey! That tickles!" Ichigo used her hand and rubbed her neck where he had blown. That was her mistake.

Kish used his free hand and pulled her to him, her other arm gave out and she collapsed onto him. Before she could collect her wits, Kish rolled so that he was once again on top.

"I told you that you didn't win. Now, say _my_ name."

Ichigo pouted.

Kish smirked and squeezed her with his arms. "Say it."

"No! I will not!"

Kish crushed her tiny form against his.

"KISSHU!!!!"

Kish let her go to find her arms around him.

"Now you have to do what I say."

"What do you want Ichi-chan?"

"Carry me downstairs and make me breakfast."

"Carry?"

"Hai."

Kish smiled, showing off his deadly fangs and whispering, "What ever you say neko-chan."

Kish sprang up with a startled Ichigo clutching his neck. He began running as fast as he could toward the kitchen.

Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut. Wind whipped her face as he ran. She turned her face and pressed it into the comforting warmth that was Kish. At one point in the trip, Ichigo thought she felt Kish let go of her; a sharp intake of breath from Ichigo had reassured her that Kish's arms weren't going to leave her.

Kish held Ichigo close to him and he felt her face pressed into his chest. Kish stopped.

Ichigo looked up. They were not in the kitchen. They were stopped in the stairwell, in front of an east-facing window. Sunlight streamed in and lit up Kish's face. Ichigo drew in her breath sharply, in the sunlight, Kish's hair glittered a deep comforting green, and his skin was softly illuminated, making his eyes stand out profoundly. His molten orbs appeared to be as deep as the Earth's core itself; the colour of his bright orbs was the equivalent of all the Earth's gold, silver, ruby, emerald, diamond and so much more. The indescribable magnificence of Kish's eyes took her breath away. He frowned a little and this shook Ichigo out of her daze. "What is it?"

"…" Kish was speechless. The previous owners of this house hadn't called the cops; they had called something worse.

"Kisshu-kun? You're scaring me…what is it?" When Kish didn't respond, Ichigo straightened up her body in his arms so that she could see out the window. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Outside the gates of the mansion stood twenty or so men, each carrying a different powerful gun. Each of the men were huge, hulking guys.

"Kisshu-kun, what did you do?"

"…" Kish was staring out of the window in a daze. He couldn't move his mouth.

'_Those metal things again…_

_I remember what happened last time I got hit by one of the things that came flying out of it…_

_Should I ask Ichigo about it?_

_Hai.'_

"Ichigo…what are those metal things? I was hit once… It really hurt."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "You were hit? Where? Are you okay?"

Kish smiled. "Hai. I'm fine, but what are those things?"

"Those are guns. They were designed to kill people."

"Oh."

"Kish…why are these people here?"

"Ichigo, I don't think there's time to explain that right now. I don't think that we're going to get to enjoy our breakfast. We have to…fight off these people."

"Why? Why don't we just go and talk to them?"

"Ichigo… They want to kill us. That's why they brought those guns."

Ichigo sighed. "I was afraid of that." Ichigo wriggled out of Kish's arms and stood in front of him. "Kish. Go get your weapons ready. I'll help you fight them, _if_ you tell me afterwards why they are attacking us."

"Okay." Kish gave Ichigo a quick hug and went immediately to go gather his weapons and get ready to fight.

'_Did he just…?_

_Forget about it! Just transform.'_

Ichigo transformed into Mew Ichigo. She remembered what had happened to the Strawberry Bell and her confidence failed as she sank to her knees.

'_I can't fight… I don't have any weapons. Kish will have to fight on his own._

_No. He's counting on you. Just because you don't have the Strawberry Bell, it doesn't mean that you can't fight. Call upon another weapon._

_I don't know any other weapons._

_Make one up._

_I don't know!_

_How about swords like Kisshu?_

_Ok… What should I call them?_

_How about… Celestial Swords? Or Banished Blades?_

_I like Banished Blades. It sounds more…dangerous._

_Okay. Go for it. Imagine the blades and call upon them._

_Okay.'_

Ichigo stood up, her determination was renewed. She closed her eyes and imagined majestic swords with black hilts and crimson ribbons tied to the hilts. "Banished Blades come to me!"

Nothing happened.

'_I don't understand. It didn't work._

_Try emptying your mind of all thought. Then call upon the Blades._

_Okay.'_

Ichigo cleared her mind. "Banished Blades! Come to me!" Ichigo felt as if her body was being warped. She opened her eyes and looked down. A transformation was taking place. Her body was bare. She saw a blood red ribbon wrapping itself around her feet, the ribbon formed high red boots that went halfway up her leg. Next were her hands, the ribbons shaped long gloves that extended halfway to her elbows. The ribbon spiralled around her body. It fashioned a striking outfit. The outfit was similar to her old outfit. The upper half was the same except that the cloth stuck to her skin and her midriff was visible. The bottom half was completely different. To take the place of the puffy skirt were short shorts that stuck to her body like the upper half. She wore a short red jeans jacket that was even shorter than her top. On each side of her waist were two deep red, almost black sheaths. Wind whipped her hair back, away from her face. When her hair fell back, it seemed to be longer; it was a deep shade of red. A short ribbon swirled up and tied back most of her hair except for several locks that were left behind to frame her face. Ichigo felt herself pull out the blades and whip them around to get a feel of them. A bright red ribbon fell through the air, she brought her blade down. The blade itself didn't reach the ribbon, but the air that was the residue of the swish seared forward and cut the ribbon neatly in two. The two ribbons looped and coiled in the air and tied themselves neatly around the black hilts of the swords.

When the transformation was complete, Ichigo looked down at herself and drew in her breath. She looked gorgeous. Ichigo played around with her blades some more. _'Wow! These are really sharp. I like them. This was a good idea. I wonder what my outfit would have been if I called the Celestial Swords. It couldn't have been better than this—'_

Slow and deliberate clapping interrupted Ichigo's thoughts. Ichigo turned around and her face reddened when she saw Kish leaning on the doorframe; smirking. Ichigo quickly turned around; suddenly very self-conscious of the amount of her skin that was exposed. She felt warmth surround her from the back and heard words spoken gently beside her ear.

"I think you look very…pleasing." Kish's soft breath tickled her ear.

Ichigo returned the blades to their sheaths. "Arigato Kisshu-kun… You're so warm…"

"Really? I think I would be warmer if—"

"Ohmigod! Did I say that out loud?"

"Loud and clear." Kish could feel heat radiating off her face.

"I—"

A gunshot echoed through the air. A voice sounded over a megaphone, "Come out now or we will come in and shoot you."

"Well Kisshu-kun, this is it. Don't get shot. I expect you to come back, I'll be waiting for your explanation." Ichigo twisted and struggled in Kish's arms and finally managed to turn around. She brought up a hand and rested it on Kish's face; tangled in his hair. The two stared at each other for a while.

Another gunshot sounded. "I'm warning you."

Ichigo, suddenly embarrassed, blushed and looked down, pulling her hand back to herself. Kish caught her hand and the two walked silently, hand-in-hand, toward what would probably be the biggest battle of their lives so far.

* * *

Zakuro lie awake in her bed. Keiichiro had come back but he had refused to tell Zakuro if they had found anything. He had said that he wanted to tell the Mews when they were all together. Zakuro had pouted and stomped away angrily. She had forgiven him when he had promised that all the Mews would meet at the Café and they would be told what they had discovered. Zakuro looked over at the clock. _'11:54. I should get up…' _Zakuro got up and took a shower. She looked around for Keiichiro. He was not there but he had left a note. 

'_Dear Zaku-chan, I'm at the Café, I know you would've wanted to come, but you were still asleep and I didn't want to disturb you. Come to the Café as soon as you can. I will call the other Mews once you've arrived and we'll tell them to come. I have something very important to discuss with you. It is imperative that you come to Café Mew Mew ASAP.Love, Keiichiro' _

Zakuro stuffed the note into her pocket and went downstairs to go eat. She made a sandwich and as soon as she had finished, she hurried off to the Café.

* * *

Zakuro entered Café Mew Mew at 1:48. Keiichiro popped his head out of the backroom and smiled when he saw who it was. 

"Hi Zakuro," Keiichiro walked up and gave Zakuro a quick peck on her cheek. "Gomen, I know I should've woken you, but you looked so peaceful and I didn't think that you'd appreciate being woken up at 6:00."

Zakuro smiled in forgiveness, "It's ok, I know how things are. So, should we call the other Mews now?"

"Hai. I have to talk to Ryou… Do you mind calling them all?"

"Iie. Don't worry, I can call them, you go ahead and talk to Ryou."

"Arigato." Keiichiro walked off to talk to Ryou as Zakuro picked up the phone.

'_I'll call Retasu first.' _Zakuro dialled Retasu's number and listened to it ring. Nobody picked up. _'Hmmm, that's not like Retasu at all. Maybe I should try again.' _Retasu tried again with the same outcome. _'Maybe she's not home. I'll call Minto.' _Zakuro dialled Minto's number and Minto picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Zakuro."

"Oh, hi Zakuro."

"Do you know where Retasu is?"

Zakuro heard a click as Minto switched on speakerphone and put the receiver down.

"I'm right here," came Retasu's reply.

"Well that makes everything easier, you two are needed at Café Mew Mew at once."

"Oh, okay," Retasu said.

"We'll be there in half an hour," Minto informed Zakuro.

"Oh and Zakuro, gomen."

"For what Retasu?" Zakuro asked, puzzled.

"For not being home and wasting your time. I should be home. Gomen."

"Iie, don't be sorry. It's ok, I found you right? That's all that matters."

"Arigato Zakuro," thanked Retasu.

"I'll see you two here in half an hour."

"Okay," chorused Minto and Retasu.

Zakuro put the receiver back into the cradle and went into the back room. There she found Ryou and Keiichiro working away at the large computer. The two turned around instantly when Zakuro walked into the room. "The others will be here in half an hour. Keiichiro…you said when all the Mews were here… Only three are going to be here."

"I meant all the Mews that could come," Keiichiro said.

"Hai, and we don't want to worry Purin over this," Ryou added.

"Oh."

"Grab a chair Zaku-chan," Keiichiro advised.

"Ok," Zakuro left the room and returned with a chair. _'I should get two for the others,' _Zakuro thought to herself. Before she sat down, Zakuro brought in two more chairs and put them beside her own chair.

The three waited noiselessly for the other two girls.

* * *

"Minto! We should hurry. We said half an hour and we've been here for 15 minutes. We only have 15 minutes to get to the Café." Retasu called. 

"Ok, I'm ready." Minto came as fast as she could down the stairs. "Let's go."

The two hurried out the door and began power walking toward the Café.

"I wonder what happened…" Retasu mused.

"Maybe they located Ichigo," Minto replied hopefully.

The two thought about the possibility of finding Ichigo as they hassled to get to Café Mew Mew.

The girls got there just as the throbbing in Minto's legs forced her to slow down.

Retasu helped Minto into the backroom of Café Mew Mew.

"Oh hi Ryou," Retasu called as she led Minto to a chair.

"Hi Reta-chan," Ryou said as he got up and gave Retasu a quick hug.

Keiichiro stood up and went to Ryou's side. "Now that all of you…all three of you are here—"

"We have some very important news for you girls." Ryou said.

The boys showed the girls the article on the Internet about the monsters attacking Hiroshima.

The girls gasped in unison. Zakuro was the first to react. "We have to help."

"Hai," Minto agreed.

"We think you girls should help too, but what about your injuries?" Ryou asked.

Keiichiro believed it was time to let everyone in on his thoughts. "You guys listen, the real question is, where are these monsters coming from? Kish has Ichigo to distract him so I doubt that he would have enough time to set monsters loose in Hiroshima. Pai and Tarto are dead so they can't be the ones behind the monsters. So who could it be?"

The room was eerily quiet as everyone considered what Keiichiro had just told them. Nobody said anything so, Keiichiro talked again. "Yesterday, after you left Ryou, I did some looking on the Internet, I found some pictures to go along with this article." Keiichiro walked over to the computer and opened a file with pictures in it. Some of the pictures were of the monsters; they were definitely Chimera Anima. After he had shown everyone the pictures of the Chimera Anima, he opened another picture. An amateur had taken this picture and it showed in the quality of the digital image. This was a picture taken at night; it was a silhouette of a man on a building. The figure had long pointed ears and a sloppy mess of short hair. He had a thin frame and from the silhouette, it seemed that he was wearing clothing similar to that of Pai's. "It appears that this is our new enemy."

"I think that we'll be able to fight off those Chimera Anima," Minto said confidently.

"We must fight off those things before more people die," Ryou said gravely.

The five people stared at the figure that stood boldly on the building. They knew what they must do and they were very afraid of what might happen. No words would be able to comfort them at this point; their destiny loomed ahead of them, great and fearsome, but they couldn't turn away. No matter how much they avoided this, it would not go away. So the only thing to do was stare it straight in the face and walk forward.

**End Chapter**

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry it took me so long. i was so busy, you know with Xmas and everything. anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter! it took me a LONG time to do this. oh ya: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ICHIGO'S NEW OUTFIT? that took me much thought. lol**

**feel free to ask questions of the story and...REVIEW!! the more you review, the faster i update. remember that::::more reviewsfaster updates**

**anyways::**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!**

**HAPPY HANNUKAH!!!!! (excuse any spelling errors :P)**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!**

**and HAPPY EVERY HOLIDAY I MISSED **

**(sorry that's all the holidays that i know around xmas)**

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!

-lil angel


	10. Losses and Victories

**Chapter 10-Losses and Victories**

Ichigo stopped in front of the main door; Kish's hand still firmly clamped in her own. "Kish…"

Kish halted and turned to face her. "Hai?"

"I…"

Kish came closer and hugged Ichigo. "I know that you're afraid… If you want, you could stay behind…"

"No Kish. I won't." Ichigo said, her black and red ears stiffened stubbornly. Ichigo hugged Kish back. "If you think that I would leave you to go fight those men alone, then you must be crazy." Ichigo's black tail wrapped itself around their legs. The blood red ribbon on the end of her tail swayed in the gentle breeze as Kish opened the door slowly.

Kish kissed the top of Ichigo's head and pulled away from the girl. "Come back to me," he murmured before he turned around and began walking outside.

Ichigo shook herself out of her stupor and followed Kish outside. She caught up to Kish and the two walked solemnly toward the wrought iron gates. When they got there, Kish and Ichigo stood before the men and glared at them fiercely.

"What do you want?" Kish asked icily.

A big, bulky man walked up to the gate and growled out words at the pair. "Am I to believe that you two twerps forced out the powerful Masonico family?"

Ichigo looked at Kish inquiringly, "What is he talking about Kish?"

"So, you didn't tell your little girlfriend here that you stole this house?" the man sneered.

Ichigo gasped, "Kish! Is that true?"

Kish's lips tightened.

The men guffawed heartily. The man who was at the front of the group (the leader of the men) looked Ichigo up and down and leered at her, "I can see why Kish here wanted to impress you little lady, you're quite a beauty; I wouldn't mind taking you on either." The man grinned evilly, baring his yellowed teeth.

"Hey!" Ichigo exclaimed angrily.

Kish's eyes narrowed and he glowered at the big man, "No one speaks to Ichigo that way." No one saw him reach for his weapon.

"And what if I do?" mocked the man.

"Then I'll kill you." Kish threatened. He shot a swift glance toward Ichigo who was scowling at the big man.

All the men hooted and snorted. "Shut up!" The leader barked. The men quietened down rapidly. "My name is Tekasu."

"Why are you telling me your name? If you haven't realized yet; I don't care," Kish snapped.

"I just thought that you should know the name of your killer," Tekasu barked. "If you give up now, I might even spare your lives."

"We won't ever give up to scum like you," Ichigo snarled. She grabbed her blade and jabbed it into Tekasu's chest. She yanked her weapon back and wiped the blood from the blade on Tekasu's clothing. Tekasu's eyes widened in shock as he breathed his last. He fell to the ground, dead before he hit the ground.

Before the men could fully comprehend what had just happened, Ichigo and Kish both flung one sword each at two of the men, the two men fell to the ground; dead with the lethal weapons sticking up out of their bodies. Ichigo and Kish sprang up to the top of the fence.

"Bring it on," Kish challenged. He leapt down and grabbed both swords, killing a man who was unfortunate enough to be close to the blade in the process. He tossed Ichigo's weapon lightly back to her.

Ichigo caught it deftly and dove toward one man with the blade held out in front of her. It plunged through the man effortlessly. She landed next to Kish gracefully. "Five down, twenty to go." Ichigo said cockily.

The men looked at each other and drew their guns. "Move and we'll shoot you," a tall man roared, he had an amazing resemblance to Tekasu and he looked hysterical. His teeth were clenched and he was pointing two handguns at Ichigo and Kish. "You just killed my brother; I won't forgive you for it!"

Kish stole a glance at Ichigo, her face looked torn between loyalty to Kish and wanting to comfort the man. She was looking at Tekasu's brother with a look of despair. She was already sorry. Kish knew that if they didn't get this over with soon, Ichigo would back out.

Ichigo realized that she had just killed innocent men for Kish and it had already made an impact on one man's family.

'_I don't want to kill anyone!_

_But you swore to Kish that you would._

_But look at that man's face! He reminds me of the time when I couldn't save a man from a Chimera Anima and he died before my eyes._

_NO! Don't fall into that depression again!_

_That man died because Kish ordered the Chimera Anima to attack the Mews and that man got in the way. Now Kish is asking me to help him kill all these people…_

_No, you _told_ the Kish that you would help him. He didn't ask, and he even offered you the chance to stay back. You chose to stick with Kish; _you _chose to kill these men. _

_Can't I…?_

_No, you can't back down now. You have to see this through to the end._

…_Okay.'_

Kish saw resolve and determination harden on Ichigo's face, some pity for the man still lingered in Ichigo's eyes, but it disappeared as Kish watched.

'_These men are trying to hurt me and Kish, I won't allow it! I will fight to protect us._

_That's the spirit. Now go get them!_

_Hmm, I need an attack that will kill a lot in one swipe, if this battle lasts too long, then one of us is sure to get shot._

_Think of an attack with the Banished Blades… Like you had for the Strawberry Bell, make one up for the Banished Blades._

_How would I summon it though? If I try and it doesn't work, then I'll be shot for sure!_

_Imagine in your mind and do it. I think something small, quick and sharp will get the job done easily._

_Hmm…small, quick and sharp, eh? I think… DAGGERS!!_

_Great! Now…something to go with it… Dangerous Daggers… No, that's a mouthful…_

_Deadly Daggers._

_Perfect! Imagine that in your head and swipe your blades in an "X" shape, imagine that the daggers will come flying out of your swords and voilà! _

_I need one more…_

_I have an idea! How about throw your sword and make it come back to you in an arc so that you can get a lot of them at once. Make it so that that attack will create winds to temporarily blind the men. And _then _leap into the air and use Deadly Daggers._

_That plan is flawless! What should I call that new attack though? It's like a tornado…_

_Umm… Twisting Tornado?_

_No… it doesn't sound dangerous enough… Think of another name for tornado._

_Cyclone…typhoon…whirlwind—_

_Twisting Typhoon! _

_Yeah! Go for it!'_

Ichigo looked at Kish trying desperately to tell him that she had a plan.

Kish seemed to read Ichigo's thoughts and moved his head a fraction of and inch to tell her that he was ready. It was now of never. He gripped his weapons tightly. He moved his arm a little so that light hit the sharp metal of his sword and shone brightly. All of the men caught this and immediately swept their guns toward Kish.

Ichigo spied her chance and snatched it. She imagined herself hurling her sword, it twirling repeatedly on its side and hitting all of the men on the outside of the cluster _and_ creating a thick wall of wind around the men. "Twisting Typhoon!" Ichigo cried, pitching her sword at the correct angle so that it would curve around the men. It caught the men off guard. They shot randomly and all of the shots missed. She heard some men cry out in pain and saw them crumple to the ground. Her sword kept on circumnavigating the group until it created a strong wind. The next time her sword passed her, she grabbed it and sprang into the air. When she was high enough, she slashed her swords and hollered, "Deadly Daggers!" Daggers seemed to emerge from the swords, materializing out of nothing. Thirty to forty daggers pointed and shot themselves at the men.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ichigo saw Kish withdraw from within the fading ring of wind. He had jumped in when her blade started circling the men.

Shots were fired as the men realized that they had lost this battle. As their departing gift to the world, they applied pressure to the triggers of the guns, not caring where they aimed; they forced the bullets out of the barrels of the guns. Some were directed into the air.

Ichigo realized that now Kish was nowhere to be seen, she looked into the chaos and realized that shots were being fired and some (unwittingly) were aimed at her.

Ichigo saw, as if in slow motion, a bullet coming toward her heart, she tried to promptly dodge it, but her body seemed to be moving in slow motion. _'No!'_ Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut in preparation for death, but all she felt was her shoulder jerking backwards from an unexpected impact and a sudden, searing pain from her left shoulder. She gasped at the abrupt pain and marvelled at the fact that she wasn't dead.

Beginning to turn to look for Kish, Ichigo felt the breath being driven swiftly out of her lungs. Her eyes widened in astonishment and her clear gaze wavered and blurred as she lost consciousness and plummeted to the ground.

Kish saw it. He saw it all. Ichigo was looking for him and had realized too late that bullets were headed in all directions, including hers. He saw her try to dodge one that was heading toward her heart. He saw the bullet narrowly miss her heart, and saw the impact of the bullet digging into her shoulder. He also saw her turn to look for him, not seeing the other bullet speeding toward her. The second bullet had skimmed her left thigh at an angle and proceeded to enter the right edge of her stomach. She had been knocked unconscious and was falling at an incredible rate toward the ground.

By now the bullets had stopped exiting the barrels of the guns and Kish teleported himself under Ichigo's falling body to catch her. He caught her skilfully and looked down at her guiltily. "This is all my fault," he told her limp body miserably. He walked hastily toward the mansion when he saw that blood was trailing down her left arm, making its way down her left leg and smearing her stomach.

Kish knew that he had to remove the bullets from her body and clean and dress her wounds properly for her to survive. If he didn't do this immediately, she would die.

The bodies of the men and their weapons would have to be taken care of later, for now; he had to concentrate on making sure that Ichigo lived.

If Kish lost Ichigo, he would never forgive himself for leading her to her death.

* * *

Zakuro, Retasu and Minto were all seated in Zakuro's spacious bedroom. 

"We have to do something. We can't just sit here while those people out in Hiroshima suffer," Minto said stubbornly.

"I agree. I know that Ryou and Keiichiro are worried, but people are _dying._ We can't allow more people to lose their lives while we're here doing nothing to stop it," Retasu strongly supported what Minto had said.

"Okay, so we have to go save those people," Zakuro granted, "but how do you suggest we do that without being seen? Ryou and Keiichiro are not going to let us go. That's a given, how do we get to Hiroshima, fight off monsters, and return without being caught?"

"If only have to worry about Ryou and Keiichiro, then we could—" Minto began.

"No," Zakuro cut off, "we have to avoid being caught on TV as well."

"Why?" Retasu asked confusedly.

"If we're seen on TV, then since Ryou and Keiichiro know who we are, they'll know that we went to Hiroshima. We can't be seen by anyone, otherwise Ryou and Keiichiro will definitely be angry at us," Zakuro pointed out.

Minto stood up and began pacing. "That new alien…"

Looking inquiringly at Minto, Retasu asked, "Have you told Masaya about your powers and who kidnapped Ichigo yet?"

Minto stopped pacing and turned away, "No, I think I should, but I don't know what he'll do. He might…leave me if he finds out that I'm a…freak."

"You're not a freak. You're different, but you're not a freak," Retasu assured Minto.

"Follow your instincts, if your heart tells you that Masaya should know, then Masaya should know," Zakuro said helpfully.

Minto turned around, smiling. "Thanks guys. Ok, back to the issue as hand." She began pacing irately again.

Retasu looked up from the bed, studying her friends. Minto's eyes had become firmly determined through her previous sadness about her predicament with Masaya. Her dark blue hair was not in its usual buns; today Minto had left her hair open. Her wavy tresses seemed to dance as she strode back and forth within the large room. She was wearing a knee-length, purple skirt with striped blue and red leg warmers to protect her legs from the increasing cold. Her baggy, red sweater featured a few, detailed leaves forming a pretty flower in the centre. Zakuro was sitting cross-legged on the floor, deep in thought. Her blue orbs were clouded with worry and her lips were stretched into a taut line. Her crossed-legs sported loose-fitting, grey track pants. She had on a matching grey sweater over a long, black T-shirt that was many sizes too big for Zakuro's tiny shape. Her long, orchid hair was done up in a tight braid that only a few wayward strands had managed to escape. '_Hmm, looks like Minto wasted her time trying to look good in front of Zakuro. I bet that Zakuro doesn't need to spend much time thinking about her outfit because she looks good in anything from sweats to the latest fashions,' _Retasu let her mind wander and looked down at her own clothing. Retasu was dressed in a plain, green skirt that reached her calves and a short, cream-coloured T-shirt. Her long green hair was styled its usual way with the two long thin braids and her shorter hair left to roam the open air freely. _'I wish I didn't have that elderly look to myself. I wish I could be like Zakuro and look good in anything or like Minto who has one of the widest varieties of clothes that I've ever seen. Even Ichigo's clothes are cute… Ichigo…' _

Retasu looked up through her big, round spectacles when a thump sounded from outside Zakuro's door. "What was that?"

Zakuro had already risen and was creeping to the door. She turned around and held her index finger to her lips, signalling the others to be quiet.

Retasu nodded, getting up in frightened concern.

Minto stopped pacing and eyed the door suspiciously.

Zakuro continued to the door, when she got there, she quietly opened it and cringed when it creaked loudly. "Hey! Who's there?"

A blond head peered around the corner. "It's only us Zakuro, no need to be alarmed."

Keiichiro walked over and gave Zakuro a quick kiss. He stepped into the room and gazed at its occupants. Then he turned around and beckoned to Ryou who walked over slowly.

"Girls, we were looking for you," Ryou said.

"Why?" Minto asked.

"We've changed our minds," Keiichiro said.

Before the girls could reply, Ryou explained, "We have to save those people in Hiroshima. If you girls are not up to it, then…" His voice trailed off.

"Then we'll think of something else. We would probably end up evacuating the city if you three can't stop the Chimera Anima," Keiichiro finished.

The girls exchanged glances and nodded in unison. "We'll do it."

* * *

The five were headed to Hiroshima. Ryou and Keiichiro had considered the girls' injuries and decided that they would take the train from Tokyo to Hiroshima. _"We can't afford you three tiring out by the time you've arrived in Hiroshima," _Ryou had said. _"Don't push yourselves, as soon as you girls are tired, come back to us and rest for a while. After that we'll decide what to do." _Keiichiro had ordered. Now the five were piled into a compartment on the train. The girls had eaten and were ready to fight. The boys had brought every single supply that they could fit into their packs. 

The girls each wore their own warm coat and proper clothing for running. Zakuro had decided not to change her clothes, Minto had kept her large sweater on but had exchanged her skirt and leg warmers for loose pants overtop of tights. Retasu had changed from her plain, green skirt into thick, army print tracks and had pulled a warm, light-blue sweater on top of her cream-coloured top. The girls gazed outside and watched the scenery change all the way from peaceful Tokyo to disastrous Hiroshima. The buildings in Hiroshima were charred and broken as if they'd been set on fire and smashed into. There were pits in the roads, making the roads virtually inaccessible.

The train came to a screeching halt and the girls were gaping out the window at the dark, chaotic city.

"R-Ryou… look at this…" Retasu stammered.

Ryou turned from talking with Keiichiro and looked out the window.

"Oh my god—Keiichiro! Look at this!" Ryou said, staring at all that had happened to the great city while the Mew Mews weren't able to come and stop the monsters.

Keiichiro gawked out the window. "Hurry let's go outside," he said, leading the group outside.

The group stood outside, Keiichiro then pointed to a hotel that appeared to be the least damaged. "I think that that hotel should be our temporary base, while we're here, that's where we'll be staying. You girls don't mind do you? I know it's probably not what you're used to but…"

"Iie, not at all," Zakuro answered, as she looked at the city streets in disdain. "I would rather be in there than out here."

"Zakuro, it is not their fault that their city is a mess. We were supposed to come and save them and stop all this from happening. That's why their city is a mess, because of us," Retasu said sadly.

"Iie Retasu, it's not our fault. We wanted to help but we couldn't. I personally blame Kish. He's the one that injured all of us when the only one that he wanted was Ichigo," Minto said spitefully.

"You can't blame Kish; he didn't know that this would happen. All he knew was that he wanted Ichigo," Retasu defended Kish because she thought that it was unfair that Kish was getting blamed for what he probably hadn't even heard about yet.

"Oh, so now you're on his side?" Minto asked haughtily.

"Iie, that's not what I said—"

"Would you two quit your bickering?" a cold voice snapped.

The two girls looked up to see Zakuro standing over them scowling.

"Gomen Zakuro," squeaked Minto, shrinking into herself.

"Gomen," Retasu mumbled.

Zakuro wasn't done yet, "We're in the middle of a destroyed city and all you two can think about is whether or not this is Kish's fault?"

Retasu looked down shamefully while Minto looked hurt.

Zakuro turned and stalked away with the two younger girls trailing after her.

Ryou sighed heavily, now that Ichigo is gone; Purin in the hospital and arguing with Zakuro being unheard of, Minto had no one to argue with other than Retasu. _'Ichigo…'_

Keiichiro felt Zakuro slip her arm through his as they walked together into the hotel. He heard her sharp intake of breath when she saw the inside of the hotel.

From the outside, this place looked as if it were barely standing. Inside was a totally different situation. There was a large empty foyer; in one corner was a lush sofa set around a small coffee table. With the pictures on the walls and stuffed animals scattered throughout the room, the hotel was already looking homely.

The group saw a board with hanging keys on the wall; most of the keys had fallen to the ground and only some remained on the hooks.

Ryou, being at the front of the group, grabbed two keys and walked into an open door that appeared to lead to the rooms. "The keys say 156 and 92. Watch for those doors and tell me when you see them."

The gathering kept an eye out for these two numbers.

"Found it." Zakuro said after a couple minutes.

Ryou came over and unlocked Room 92. This room was such a large room that the girls decided that all three of them would stay here.

"I think that you two should go to the room next door, otherwise we'll probably lose you."

"The door is locked…"

Zakuro walked out of the room and to the next door and turned the doorknob. It was locked. She walked back into her room, remembering that she'd seen something that she could use to open the door. She rummaged around and found a bunch of bobby pins. She grabbed one and returned to the other door. She picked the lock and after several minutes, she heard a click that indicated that the door was open. "Here you go," she said, returning to her room. She tossed the pin onto a dresser and sat down.

"Girls, I think that you should get some rest, and eat something. We need to go out as soon as possible. We can't afford to waste any time. Tomorrow morning, we're going out there to fight and win back Hiroshima."

* * *

Keiichiro awoke to chirping birds and Ryou staring out the window, "What time is it?" 

Ryou's whipped his head around with surprise. He calmed down when he saw Keiichiro sitting up in bed. "It's 9:56."

Keiichiro jumped up incredulously, "What?! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked peaceful and besides you usually don't get enough sleep so I let you sleep."

"How long have you been up?"

"Since 7."

Keiichiro shivered and wrapped his long arms around himself. "The girls?"

"They're up and eating." Ryou responded, turning back to the window.

Keiichiro nodded and went to the bathroom to wash up. A couple minutes later, he proceeded to the kitchen. The girls were seated around a circular table eating and chatting away. When Keiichiro entered, they stopped talking and looked up at him.

"Good morning," Zakuro chirped cheerily. She smiled and gestured toward the counter where a cereal box rested.

"There's cereal if you want some," Minto said absently.

"Where's Ryou?" Retasu asked shyly.

"He's back in our bedroom. I think he already ate, since he woke up so early." Keiichiro answered, walking over to the counter and picking up a cereal box. He foraged through the cupboards and found a bowl, grabbing a spoon; he sat down next to Zakuro. He poured a handful of cereal into the bowl and showered it with milk.

Twenty minutes later, the five humans left the hotel and set out. Keiichiro made sure to memorize what the address of the hotel was. They walked on for half an hour with no indication whether or not they were going the right way.

A roar sounded in the distance, leaving the humans' ears ringing. "It was coming from the left. The five hurried along. Soon they also heard the smashing of buildings.

"Transform now!" Ryou cried.

"MEW-TAMORPHOSIS!" the three girls cried. Their bodies levitated for a few seconds and they returned to earth outfitted in their Mew Mew gear.

"Retasu!" Ryou called, she ran back to him and embraced him, "Stay safe." He moved her a little away from his body and leaned down to kiss her. Her bright green eyes closed in bliss. Ryou ended the kiss and hugged her once again.

Zakuro walked up to Keiichiro, who was gazing uneasily out at the ruin that had become of Hiroshima. She gently moved his face toward her and pressed her soft lips onto his, relishing the warmth that the kiss generated. Not wanting the kiss to end but running out of air, she pulled away. She shivered and he enveloped her in his warm arms. "Don't leave me," he whispered huskily.

"I won't," she whispered back.

A loud crash broke the silence, the girls jumped and the boys tightened their grips protectively.

"Let's go," Minto said gravely.

Retasu and Zakuro looked at Ryou and Keiichiro determinedly, "We're ready." They kissed the boys and breaking their embraces, turned around and followed Minto away.

"We'll meet you back at the hotel," Ryou called after the girls.

"Ok," Minto called, walked proudly toward the beast. As soon as they rounded the corner, her walk changed. Her shoulders slumped; she looked down at the ground and began dragging her feet.

Retasu and Zakuro exchanged glanced and jogged to catch up to Minto. They caught up and Zakuro used her forefinger to lift Minto's face up to meet her gaze. She was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong Minto?"

"It's just that…" she wiped away her tears and attempted to speak clearer, "you two look so happy with Ryou and Keiichiro because they know your secrets. I can never be that open with Masaya."

Zakuro hugged Minto, "…I know how it feels. Before I had Keiichiro, I had to hide everything from my boyfriends. It was incredibly hard."

"How did you know…?" Minto paused to sniff, "how did you know that you couldn't tell them your secret?"

"I knew not to tell them because I couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean, when I tried to tell them, my mind screamed at me not to, so I ended up never telling any of my boyfriends. Good thing I didn't too. Most of my boyfriends turned into crazed stalkers that couldn't get enough of me and some of them moved to another part of the world before they hit that stage," Zakuro smiled ruefully.

Minto stopped sobbing and thought, _'I should try that with Masaya. It would tell me if he's really right for me.' _Her expression returned to grim determination. She wiped away her remaining tears and said, "Let's go kick some monster butt!"

"That's the spirit," Retasu said, relieved that Minto was over her initial insecurity about Masaya.

The three Mews hurried to the loud crashes. When they turned the last corner, they stopped dead. In front of them was a monster that was 10 feet tall. It had ugly, green-brown scales that overlapped and broad wings that were folded neatly into the monster's back. The monster had lengthy claws for hands and short stubby legs. Its face was the scariest of all. Its beady, red eyes looked down over its long snout and scrutinized everything. The monster had ugly, pointed ears that twitched as it destroyed Hiroshima. It had not seen the girls yet.

"Heart Arrow!" Minto took aim and hit the monster in its large belly.

The monster shrieked in pain. The arrow had left a large cut in the monster's belly; thick blood had already started pouring out of the monster's belly.

"This looks like it's going to be easy," Zakuro called her weapon and let it rip on the monster. Another, longer cut appeared on the monster.

The monster howled long and hard. The girls fell to the ground, pressing their hands to their ears; trying to block the horrid sound. The monster unfurled its wings threateningly and glared down at the girls. It wound up its arm to strike the girls.

Retasu recovered the fastest and looked up at the monster. Her eyes grew round and she grabbed both her friends and pulled them out of harms way. A second later, the monster's claw came crashing down on the spot where the girls had been.

Retasu looked up angrily at the monster. Growling, she let her attack hit he monster. It hit the monster in its face. Screeching, the monster scratched at its eyes, which was a mistake, considering that long, deadly claws were what scratched at the monster's eyes. Stumbling backwards, the monster fell, shaking the ground.

The Mews, now recovered, sprang up and nodded at each other. In unison, they attacked the monster. It's baying rang throughout he city as it disappeared.

The girls hurried over and saw that in its place a lizard was left, a small paper was attached to the back of the lizard. The lizard tried to wriggle free of the paper, but failed. Before the girls' eyes, the lizard began getting bigger and scalier.

Retasu gasped and ripped the paper off the lizard. She showed it to the others and they stared at it for a while. "This has strange letters on it," suddenly, something happened inside her, she felt as if darkness were taking over her spirit. She felt hopeless, lost and desolate. The paper began burning her skin, "Ouch!" She crumpled up the paper and threw it back and forth between her hands so that the sudden heat would not affect her skin anymore. Her instinct told her to totally destroy the paper. She looked around for a way to do that and saw a small flame flicker in a pile of rubble. She scurried over to it and threw the paper in. She watched the paper burn and heard a distant scream that seemed to emit from the paper. Stepping back a few paces, she let loose a small wave of water to diminish the fire and once she was sure the fire was out, she returned to her friends.

"Why'd you do that? We could have given it to Keiichiro to check out. That would've given us a lead on this new method of making Chimera Anima," Zakuro snapped angrily at Retasu.

"I…it felt like something evil was drinking up my spirit…" Retasu shuddered, "I think that's what transformed that harmless little lizard."

Minto felt her cheeks grow warm with anger, "Exactly! If Keiichiro and Ryou analyzed that sample, they could've figured out what it was that was making the lizard evil."

"Why would you burn something like that?" Zakuro demanded.

"It was an instinct," Retasu felt her eyes sting, indicating that she was about to cry. She blinked rapidly, _'I don't want to cry! If these two don't believe me, so be it! I know what I did was right, no matter what they say!'_

* * *

Shin looked down at the three bickering girls with distaste. They had defeated his monster with ease, "Troublesome brats," he murmured to himself. _'If the lizard was easy, then the other one will be no match at all.' _

Shin's short mess of dark purple hair swayed gently in the wind. His icy blue eyes followed the movement of the Mews down below. _'I thought there was supposed to be five of them…' _Shin's long ears picked up the girls' words.

"That paper was evil. I had to destroy it!"

Shin figured that this was the one he'd seen walk over to the flame and destroy the paper; the green one.

"You could've given it to one of us. You know what? I've had enough, I'm going back to the hotel."

Shin watched the short girl in blue with tiny wings stomp away angrily. Hearing this arrogance reminded Shin of Pai and Tarto who had insisted haughtily that they were the perfect ones to come to Earth to "help" Kish take over this planet. A while later, news reached him that Pai and Tarto had been killed, there was no news on Kish. He wanted to know what had happened to Kish and it angered him to know that these little human girls had killed Pai and Tarto. The very same humans that had emerged victorious from their battles were now arguing among themselves as the aliens had done so long ago on their home planet.

"I'm with Minto."

Shin saw the tallest girl, dressed in lavender follow the girl in blue—Minto away.

Deciding that this was the opportune moment, Shin dove down to the ground. He landed silently behind the girl in green who was standing there helplessly. He wrapped his strong arms around her and squeezed her. A surprised cry emitted from her mouth. Feeling a sharp stinging in his ears, he clamped a hand over her mouth.

The other two girls turned around and were shocked by what they saw. They immediately returned to their battle stance. "Let her go you creep!" The one in purple yelled.

"Don't you dare harm our friend!" Minto ordered, a hint of panic sidling into her large sapphire eyes.

Shin laughed harshly. "A minute ago, it didn't look like you were friends."

"You were _spying_ on us?" the taller girl screamed in outrage, she began to run forward, wielding her weapon.

Minto must have seen Shin preparing to leap away and cried out, "Zakuro, STOP!"

Zakuro halted and looked back at Minto, who was amazingly calm.

"Who are you?" Minto demanded in a cold voice.

"My name is Shin."

"What do you want?" Zakuro asked, finally calm.

"I want information on Kish. Where is he?" Shin asked, glared down at the two girls in front of him.

Minto's expression changed from angry to blank, "Don't you have…like…a way to communicate?"

Shin's face grew angry. "Kish didn't report in."

"Minto, I don't trust him. I think this is all some charade—"

"Really? What would I gain by lying to you?"

"Zakuro…I believe him. He has nothing to gain by lying to us."

Zakuro face contorted into so much rage that Shin saw Minto look away guiltily.

"Tell me where he is." Shin said.

"Iie," Minto said, "I think we can work out a trade. You call off your monsters and we'll tell you what we know."

Shin scowled, "How 'bout I let your little friend here go without harm and you tell me where Kish is." The girl wriggled in his arms and he felt her muscles ripple slightly and her right leg suddenly lifted up. She was going to stamp on his foot. "Do it and I'll kill you."

She froze. Lowering her foot slowly, she stood without making a fuss.

"Fine, you let go of Retasu and we'll tell you what we know." Minto agreed, sighing.

"Feh, stupid humans," Shin muttered, releasing Retasu.

Retasu stumbled forward and collapsed on Zakuro, who caught her with ease.

"Gomen Retasu," Zakuro mumbled, "I didn't mean to yell at you, I'm just having a bad day."

Retasu smiled up at Zakuro, "It's okay." Regaining her balance, she watched Shin curiously.

"Kish took Ichigo and went somewhere. We know that he's still in Japan though."

"Oh, that really helps," Shin said sarcastically.

"Well that's all we know," Minto said indignantly.

Shin's suddenly felt himself unable to contain his curiosity. _'Ichigo… That name is so familiar… Where've I heard it before?' _"Ichigo? Who's Ichigo?"

"She's our leader," Retasu answered, "Kish kidnapped her."

"A human? Why?"

"He used to have a crush on her."

Shin looked blankly back at Retasu. "Crush? He crushed her? How can you _have_ a crush?"

Zakuro sighed, "It means that Kish used to like Ichigo…a lot."

"So he kidnapped her. Hmm…" _'I know that Kish always loved impressing his female friends with grand objects. If I know Kish, then I know that he's probably in a mansion somewhere flirting with Ichigo…' _Shin mused silently.

Deciding that he'd gathered enough information to find Kish, Shin smirked at the Mews, "See you later." He snapped his fingers and disappeared. In his place stood a giant growling bulldog. Its teeth were bared and its deep wrinkles made it look all the more fearsome.

"Let's combine our attacks!" Zakuro called.

The three girls attacked the dog and it fell to the ground, completely helpless. It's body changed back into a regular bulldog. The girls hurried up and grabbed the paper that was attached to the dog. This time, when Retasu held it, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she collapsed.

Zakuro caught her and set her down on the ground. "She's out cold." Zakuro tried to wake her up but failed.

"C'mon! We have to get this back to Ryou and Keiichiro to analyse."

Zakuro picked up Retasu and the three hurried back to the hotel, with Minto carefully throwing the scrunched up paper from hand to hand as Retasu had done, so that it didn't affect her.

"We can't lose Retasu!" Zakuro said desperately.

"This paper might be the key helping Retasu!" Minto said grimly, as they hastily returned to the hotel. They had to find out what the paper did. It was the only way to save Retasu.

**End Chapter**

* * *

hey guys! how's this chapter? personally i think its WAY too long :P joking! 

**REVIEW REPLIES::**

**kisshusfavoritegirl:** pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea-sepleasepleaseplease  
PLEASE continue the story!i really like it!!WOOHO!  
P.S. what's gomen?  
P.S.S. what's Tomare?  
P.S.S.S. Please reply!

**lil angel**: lol thankss!! gomen means sorry, tomare means stop, sooooo how much you liek my newest chapter???

GUYS PLEASE---- review REVIEW **REVIEW**!!!!!!!!!! (feel free to ask questions)

guess what?!!!!  
i made an email address for its at hotmail--so you guyss can talk to me all you want!!!! u just have to tell me which story that you're talking about so that i can sort you guys (wink)

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gotta go (muah)

-lil angel


	11. Uncertainty

**Chapter 11-Uncertainty**

Kish took Ichigo into the mansion. Her body hung limp in his arms. Her head lolled back and her arms swung as he walked. Kish realized that he had stopped walking and was staring down at her body with dread. Kish grit his teeth and shoved all doubt and worry out of his head. _'I have to keep a clear head if I'm going to do this right.' _Kish hurried up the stairs to his room. He set Ichigo down on the large bed. Then he teleported downstairs and got a large bowl full of warm water and several clean rags.

Kish kneeled down beside Ichigo and froze. _'If I'm going to dress her wounds I might have to…_un_dress her…' _Usually Kish wouldn't have hesitated doing anything perverse to Ichigo but now that her life depended on it, Kish wasn't so sure.

'_What am I doing? I'm no doctor. I can't do this._

_Well, you _have_ to. Ichigo's life depends on you undressing her and tending to her wounds. _

_I…_

_You can do it. You _have_ to. No one else can do it. _

_Why can't I call a doctor?_

_Because, he'll see all the dead guys and then you'll be in trouble, because he's going to report that you're a murderer._

_Ichigo will hate me if I undress her. _

_Ichigo will be _dead_ if you don't. Look, we have no time to waste. Shut up and do it!_

_(Gulp) Okay.'_

Kish swallowed his fear and pulled Ichigo into a sitting position. He cautiously removed the crimson jacket and threw it on the floor behind him. _'Oh no, how am I going to get this off without upsetting her wounds?' _Ichigo's top was tight-fitting and stuck to her skin. It ended at the bottom of her ribs. Kish looked at where the wound was. It was just below her ribs. Kish sighed in relief. He didn't have to take off her top, he just had to curl it up a bit.

Kish moved so that Ichigo was leaning against him and his hands carefully folded up the bottom until he thought it was high enough. Kish was setting her back down when his fingers brushed her breast. Kish blushed a little and yanked his hand back, half expecting Ichigo to sit up and smack him. When Ichigo didn't move, he took a clean rag and dipping it into the warm water, wiped it across Ichigo's stomach.

Soon, all the blood was cleaned off her stomach. _'The bullet! Don't forget to take the bullet out!' _"Oh yea…the bullet…" Kish looked around the room for something the he could use to take the bullet out. He searched through the drawers and found a ball of yarn. Sticking out of the ball, were two knitting needles. "Perfect!" Kish drew the needles out of the ball of yarn and washed them thoroughly with soap before going back to Ichigo. He peered into the bloody wound. The skin was lacerated and the bullet seemed to be deep. Kish used the needles and moved around all Ichigo's skin tissues and still didn't find the bullet. _'Wait! If the bullet entered at an angle, it bound to be further up…'_ Kish realized what he had to do. A wave of nausea washed over him but he hastily pushed it away. He took the needle and ever-so-carefully slid it into the wound and up a little, the needle hit something.

Kish took the other needle and carefully put it next to the other one. In between the two, he locked the bullet and moved it towards the open wound. Finally, after what seemed like hours of pulling the bullet, it came out. Kish tossed it into the garbage can and sighed. He took the rag and cleaned all the fresh blood that had spurted out when Kish was dealing with bullet. "Hmm…what's that human liquid remedy that stings so much? Acholol? Alchool? Alcohol! I need alcohol and bandages."

After doing a thorough search, Kish found medical supplies in the closet nearest the stairwell on the sixth floor. He found a translucent bottle of alcohol and enough bandages to bandage Ichigo's whole body in several layers. He took two rolls of bandages and the bottle of alcohol.

Kish returned to Ichigo's side. He took a fresh rag and spilled some alcohol on it. He held the rag above her wound and looked down queasily, _'This hurt me like hell… if it hurt me so much, it's bound to hurt Ichigo even more. I can't hurt her with this…' _but deep down, Kish knew he had to do it. He clamped his eyes shut and pressed the rag down on Ichigo's wound.

Darkness had secured Ichigo in some place; she had walked about for God knows how long. She could not see, hear, smell or feel anything. She was at a complete loss and was getting desperate. A sharp pain suddenly exploded in her lower, right stomach. She fell to her knees and watched as light surged toward her. She watched fearfully and she found herself resting on something soft and staring up at a red ceiling. The pain persisted and her hands shot to her stomach. She winced as her left arm pulsed with pain. She dropped it and concentrated on her right hand. She pressed her hand to the injury and found something strange. Someone else's hand was pressed to the wound with some sort of cloth. This cloth was causing her pain, she pushed it away and relished the relief she felt from her wound.

"Ichigo! You're awake!" Kish had been surprised when he saw her red orbs appear, but when she had shown that she had enough strength to push away his hand and the rag, he was ecstatic. It meant that she was less likely to die. Ichigo moved her gaze to meet Kish's.

"Kish! You came… I thought that-that… It was so dark and I was so scared and-and I was lost and—"

"Shhhh koneko-chan, I'm here," Kish smiled down at Ichigo. "Now Ichigo, I need to take care of your injuries. All you need to do is sit tight and don't make sudden movements. Just do as I say."

Ichigo seemed to have calmed down.

"Koneko-chan, I need you to sit up so I can tie the bandages. Can you manage that?"

"Hai," Ichigo tried to use her arms but gasped when her left arm pounded with pain. She was halfway up when her arm gave way. A stricken look crossed her face; she knew that hitting the bed would cause her more pain. She squeezed her eyes shut in preparation of the impact. It didn't come. She felt warmth spread from two large areas on her back. Kish had reached back and using his hands helped her into a sitting position. She looked up at him shyly. A blush crept onto her face when he smiled reassuringly down at her.

"It'll be alright, I'm here now," Kish let go of her when he was sure she wouldn't fall back again and grabbed a roll of bandages off the ground. He looked at the label, it said to spread some antibiotic ointment before wrapping the bandage around. Kish stood up and turned to go look for the ointment when he felt Ichigo grasp his hands.

"Iie Kish! Don't leave me! I-I need you…"

Kish turned around and saw Ichigo's eyes round with fear. He smiled kindly at her, "Ichi-chan, I have to go and get the ointment, I'll be back as soon as I can, I swear. I wouldn't leave you, ever."

Ichigo nodded uncertainly, "Do you swear you'll come back?"

"Hai."

Ichigo reluctantly let go of Kish's hands.

Kish didn't want to leave her either, but he knew the ointment would help her recover. He smiled and teleported to the closet where he had found the other materials. He rummaged through the closet and finally found the ointment. He grabbed it and teleported back to Ichigo. Kish kneeled next to Ichigo and told her what he was about to do. He began applying the ointment to Ichigo's stomach injury.

Ichigo blushed when she felt Kish spreading the ointment. The ointment was cool and offered her relief, Ichigo sighed. This was much better than the alcohol.

Kish finished applying the ointment and grabbed the bandages. "Ichigo, I need to wrap the bandages now, so don't move." Kish took several minutes and tied the bandages efficiently around her lower torso. When he finally tied the bandage, he found Ichigo staring down at him. When he returned her gaze, she blushed madly and shifted her gaze.

'_What's going on? Why am I blushing every time Kish looks at me? I don't like him… I still like Masaya…_

_Masaya? Forget about Masaya, he's with Minto. _

_So then, who do I have?_

_Well, not Masaya. _

_I never used to blush when Kish smiled at me._

_Maybe because before, it used to be a perverted smile and now it's a sincere smile. _

_So?_

_Maybe…never mind. Pay attention to what's going on.'_

"Ichigo, next is your leg… Lie down."

Ichigo nodded and slowly lowered herself onto bed. As soon as she had done so, her pain magnified itself. Her shoulder, left thigh and stomach throbbed with such ferocity that her eyes stung with tears and she whimpered.

Kish was caught by surprise when a whimper escaped Ichigo. He locked his gaze onto hers and saw tears fleeing from her eyes.

"It-it hurts," Ichigo sniffed.

Kish wiped away her tears and held her face between his hands, "It'll all be over soon."

"Gomen Kisshu-kun, I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

Kish smiled, "You're not any trouble koneko-chan. Now brighten up the room and smile for me."

Ichigo couldn't help it; Kish instilled such hope into her. She smiled up through her tear-streaked face. "Arigato Kisshu-kun."

Kish saw her smile and pushed back her bangs, "You're beautiful."

Before she could utter another word, Kish went back to her leg. He was relieved to see that it was below her shorts. He took another rag and dipping it into the water, wiped away the blood, which was beginning to dry. He saw that where the bullet had grazed her leg, it had only torn off some of the skin but it was a long scrape.

When he saw that more blood began to ooze out of her leg, Kish picked up the rag that he had poured the alcohol on before and spilled more alcohol on it. "Ichi-chan, I'm going to clean the wound with some alcohol now. It's going to hurt… Gomen." Kish pressed the rag onto the length of the wound.

Ichigo bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain. The sting of the alcohol was so sudden that her previous pain dulled in comparison.

Kish lifted the rag and wiped it once across her wound. He took the ointment and spread it over the gash. Kish lifted Ichigo's leg so that her foot was down but her knee stuck up. This way it would be easier to tie the bandages. He took the roll of bandages and tied it tightly around her thigh.

Ichigo's face burned and seemed to get hotter every time his skin met hers. _'He's so close to me…' _

Kish knotted the bandage and stood back. _'All that's left is her shoulder.' _Kish recalled when his hand had brushed her breast when she had been unconscious. _'What would happen if that happens again? She's awake now…' _Kish blushed at the thought.

He shook his head to clear his mind. _'I can't think of that.'_ Kish gulped and went up to Ichigo's shoulder. "Ichigo, I need to remove the bullet from your shoulder. It's going to hurt…"

Since Ichigo had her right shoulder nearest Kish and the edge of the bed, Kish had to lean over her to reach her shoulder.

Kish noticed with relief that this bullet hadn't entered at an angle and was visible from outside. Kish saw the dull end of the bullet and retrieved the knitting needles from where he had laid them. "Gomen Ichigo… I don't want to hurt you but this bullet has to be taken out."

Ichigo was surprised to find real regret in his voice. She looked into his shining, golden eyes. His eyes were brimming with worry, regret and… love? _'No, I'm being stupid… he doesn't love me…does he? Was he serious every single time he told me he loved me? …No. Impossible. He's just being a good friend…right?'_

Kish saw confusion swimming in her large, red orbs. As he watched, he saw trust bloom from within all the uncertainty.

She nodded, "I trust you Kisshu-kun. I know you can get it out." She smiled at Kish's astonished face.

Kish turned to her shoulder and led the needles to the bullet. He saw Ichigo wince and he secured the bullet between the two needles. He carefully pulled it out and chucked the bullet into the garbage can. He dropped the needles on the floor and sighed. "Almost done Ichigo…" Kish soaked the rag with alcohol and pressed it down on her shoulder wound.

Ichigo whimpered and sniffed. She choked on her tears and cried out, "Kisshu!"

Kish lifted the rag and wiped it across her cut. He took the ointment and hastily smeared some across the gash. As soon as he was sure that her entire wound was covered, he cupped her face in his hands. "It's all over now. Don't cry my little strawberry. Just sit still for another five minutes." He lifted Ichigo into a sitting position and sat in front of her, straddling her legs. He took the second roll of bandages and wordlessly began wrapping it tightly around her shoulder.

Ichigo saw Kish's pained expression as he worked. His mass of green hair teased her face. When he had knotted the bandage, he flung the roll of bandages off to the side and sat up. Ichigo stared at Kish through tearful eyes. Kish's eyes were anxious and upset. Ichigo struggled to smile at him. She fell onto his strong chest and wept.

Kish wrapped his arms around her quivering figure, holding her head in place on his shoulder. She didn't know how much it had hurt him to see her cry out in pain he caused. Kish whispered encouragingly to her. "It's okay. I'm here. The pain will go away now."

"Arigato Kisshu-kun. I couldn't have made it without you. I…" a blush coloured her face, _'I almost said that I loved him… I don't though… I can't imagine myself with him… but he's being so nice and supportive…' _Ichigo tentatively locked her arms around him. "Don't leave me Kisshu-kun…"

Kish was taken aback for a moment, but he recovered quickly, "I won't." he stroked her red hair and realized that even though she was still in her Mew uniform, her ears and tail had disappeared. _'That's strange…' _

A low grumble sounded, Kish was immediately on guard, "What was that?"

Ichigo giggled and cleared her throat self-consciously, "My stomach… Kisshu-kun, I'm hungry." Ichigo felt his tense body relax.

"I'll go and get you something to eat. What do you want to eat?"

"You're going to leave me?" Ichigo wasn't quite ready to be alone after her ordeal in that cold, dark place.

"Ichigo, don't worry, I'll be back before you know it. We're both hungry and you won't heal any faster if you don't get food."

Ichigo still looked unsure and nervous, "Okay…"

"What do you want to eat?"

"I think I saw some ramen the other day… Do you know how to make ramen?"

Kish smiled, "Hai, I do. I'll make some ramen for both of us. Now, don't do anything rash, I'll be back with two steaming bowls of ramen." Kish lightly helped her lie down again and smiled before he teleported down to the kitchen.

When Kish had lovingly placed her on the bed and teleported himself away, Ichigo sighed and settled down to think.

'_Why's he being so nice to me?_

_You know the answer to that. _

_Why do I feel so grateful towards him?_

_Because he just saved your life._

_Why am I so shy around him all of a sudden?_

…

_Why do I yearn to see his smile?_

…

_Why is it that when he _does_ smile at me, it warms me up and makes my heart beat faster?_

…

_Why do I keep blushing around him?_

…

_Why do I want to be near him?_

…

_Why do I want to hug him? _

…

_Why do his lips suddenly look so tempting?_

…

_Why do I want him to think of me and no one else?_

…

_Why do I feel this way?_

…_Because you love him._

_No. NO! I can't love him. He's my enemy. I can't…I just can't love him. He hates me._

_You know that's not true._

_But I killed Tarto and Pai… He _has_ to hate me! He just _HAS_ to!_

_You love him. _

_No…_

_How else can you explain everything? And just moments ago, you were about to tell him that you loved him. _

_No… Masaya…_

_Forget about Masaya! He and Minto are together._

_I can't love Kish…_

_Then you explain everything that's been going on.'_

Just then, Kish teleported himself into the room with two steaming bowls of ramen. He smiled at her astounded face.

Fire raced through Ichigo and her heart beat faster.

'_I can't.' _

"Can you sit up?" Kish asked, setting the bowls onto the bedside table.

Ichigo tried and struggled. Kish came over and helped her up. He also moved her back so that she was leaning on the headboard. "Arigato."

"Can you eat by yourself?"

"Hai," Ichigo reached for the bowl with her hands. She winced and dropped her left hand. "Gomen Kisshu-kun."

Kish smiled in silent forgiveness. Kish took a bowl and sat down beside Ichigo. He took the chopsticks and held up the ramen to her mouth.

Ichigo blushed, _'He's willing to do so much for me… it's no wonder I lo—no I don't!' _Ichigo firmly denied the fact and opened her mouth. She absentmindedly wrapped the noodles around her tongue. She sucked them into her mouth.

"Wait Ichigo! They're hot!"

Ichigo's eyes widened and she spit out the noodles. Kish skilfully caught them in the bowl.

"Manners koneko-chan," Kish scolded playfully.

Ichigo pouted and stuck out her tongue. "You never told me they were hot."

"Well there was steam coming off of them and I assumed that you knew that meant they were hot."

Ichigo flushed.

"Never mind," Kish held up another piece. "Blow first this time."

Ichigo blew at the noodles and ate them. She felt the hot ramen travelling down to her stomach. The warmth spread throughout her and she shivered. She felt Goosebumps line her arms; she hadn't realized how cold she was.

Kish's brow furrowed. "Are you cold koneko-chan?" before she could respond, Kish had the blanket covering her legs.

"It's even colder under here," Ichigo complained, her teeth chattering.

"I can fix that." Kish put the bowl down and pushed Ichigo over a bit.

"Hey!"

Kish sat down nearest the edge of the bed and he felt Ichigo lean on him.

Ichigo could feel the heat radiating off the alien and she snuggled up to him.

Kish ignored her weight and picked up the bowl of ramen. He continued feeding her until the bowl was finished. Kish picked up his bowl and frowned. "My bowl is cold now."

Ichigo looked up guiltily. "Gomen."

Kish blinked, "I wasn't blaming you."

"But it's my fault."

"…I like cold ramen."

"Liar."

"Don't worry."

"I'm not worrying."

"Really? What do you call it then?"

"…Concern."

At this Kish laughed, "Worry and concern are the same thing."

Ichigo blushed. "I know that."

Kish smirked. "I can go and warm them up if you want me to."

Ichigo gasped, "No, you're warm. I-I mean—"

"No need to explain Ichigo, I'll stay here," Kish laughed inwardly at the flustered Ichigo, "with you." Ichigo stayed silent, so Kish began to eat.

When he was done, Ichigo was still resting against him.

"Are you sleepy?"

"…Mm?"

"Are you sleepy?" he repeated.

"Hai…"

"Okay, this might hurt, but you'll be more comfortable." Kish struggled for a while and finally managed to get Ichigo lying down. He was about to go when Ichigo's hand grabbed his wrist.

"Stay…here… with me…" she was looking up at him blearily.

"You want me to sleep with you?" Kish asked, amused.

Ichigo blushed a little but nodded.

"As you wish my precious koneko," Kish lay down next to Ichigo and she instantly snuggled up next to him, pressing her face up to his strong chest.

Ichigo heard his even heartbeat and it lulled her to sleep, the last thing she thought was _'Déjà vu…'_

Kish stared down at Ichigo thoughtfully. _'This is what…the third time? What is happening to her? She's changed so much since she arrived here with me. She's being so nice to me… I wonder why?' _Kish's arms instinctively enveloped her little body. His chin found its place on the top of her head. _'I let you get hurt Ichigo…I'll never let it happen again. Ever. Because…' _"I love you."

* * *

Minto and Zakuro burst into Room 93 in the hotel carrying Retasu. 

Ryou and Keiichiro were staring at the screen of their laptop. They both looked up simultaneously. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw Retasu unconscious in Zakuro's arms. She had transformed back to her regular form.

"Retasu!" Ryou cried, hurrying over to her. Ryou took her body from Zakuro and laid her down on the bed. "What happened?"

"When we beat the first Chimera Anima, a paper with strange symbols was left taped to a lizard. Retasu picked up the paper, something weird happened and she tossed the paper into flames," Minto began.

"Then, this guy who called himself Shin appeared. He asked about Kish and when he left, a huge dog appeared. When we defeated this dog, the same thing appeared. A paper with the same symbols was taped to the dog," Zakuro continued.

"When Retasu touched the paper, she fainted." Minto finished.

"Did you girls bring the second paper?" Keiichiro asked.

"Hai," Minto stepped forward and handed the paper to Keiichiro. "This is it. Oh, don't hold it for too long."

Keiichiro put the paper on to the dresser and leant over it to study it. "This appears to be some sort of spell… Hai, I studied this ancient language in school."

"What does it say?" Zakuro asked.

"I don't know how to translate it. But the spell creates uncertainty in the animal or person that it is attached to. The animal or person start to doubt what they are and they become something else. This is a very dangerous spell," Keiichiro replied.

Ryou looked shocked, "Will Retasu be alright?"

"Hai, she did the right thing by burning the spell. She'll soon realize that she is a Mew Mew and she will awaken tomorrow morning," Keiichiro smiled reassuringly at everyone in the room.

Minto and Zakuro exchanged guilty glances.

"Girls, what about Shin. Was he human? Why did he want to find Kish? Did you tell him about Ichigo?" Ryou interrogated.

"He was an alien like Kish, Tarto and Pai. He seemed really angry at Kish; he said that Kish didn't report so…he was looking for Kish. When he left, he seemed pretty sure where Kish would be." Zakuro said.

"Yeah, we did tell him about Ichigo. It was after he found out that Kish had kidnapped Ichigo that he looked sure that he would find Kish," Minto answered Ryou's last question.

Ryou went back to the laptop, after a moment of typing, Ryou sat up, "Girls, I have some good news and bad news."

"What the good news?" Minto asked.

"The good news is that you've defeated all the Chimera Anima in Hiroshima. There were only two. You've defeated both of them."

"The bad news?" Zakuro asked.

"I can't track Shin; we're no closer to finding Ichigo."

A slow beeping sounded from the laptop. Ryou looked down and Keiichiro turned away from the spell to stare at the screen. The whole screen flashed red. A message popped up.

**ICHIGO OKAY.**

**NO DANGER.**

**ICHIGO HERE WITH KISH.**

**ICHIGO AND KISH FRIENDS.**

**FIGHT TOGETHER AGAINST EVIL MEN.**

**ICHIGO HURT.**

**KISH TAKE CARE OF ICHIGO.**

**SHE OKAY.**

**WE OKAY.**

**-MASHA**

"Well, we have some more good news," Keiichiro notified the girls.

The two females gazed at Keiichiro expectantly.

"Ichigo and Masha are alive and well. Ichigo seems to have gotten injured, but… Kish took care of her? Masha must be mistaken." Keiichiro looked confusedly at Ryou. "Doesn't Kish hate Ichigo for killing Tarto and Pai?"

"Apparently not, Masha doesn't know how to lie, he can't have been lying."

"Did you get a location?" Minto asked eagerly.

"Well, it's strange but Masha didn't send a location. He just sent a message. It seems he doesn't want to give away their position. I wonder why… but, if Masha leaves the message long enough, I can get a location."

The message suddenly disappeared. When Ryou looked for it, it had disappeared off the computer as if it hadn't even existed. "Never mind. I guess he knew that and retrieved the message as soon as he thought we'd seen it."

"That fur ball is pretty smart for a mechanical dust bunny," Zakuro commented, she had never approved of Masha as much as the others.

"We programmed it to be smart, but we never imagined that it would be this smart. This is amazing," responded Keiichiro.

"Too smart, it has a mind of its own. I think it's trying to protect Ichigo's location. Something must've happened making Masha feel like Ichigo would like to stay with Kish," Ryou mused aloud.

"Ichigo _wants_ to stay with Kish? That doesn't sound like our Ichigo," Minto said.

"Well, it doesn't sound like they're having any trouble cooperating," Zakuro said, "Maybe, they've formed some kind of…connection." Her eyes twinkled in the fading light.

Ryou glanced sidelong at Zakuro. He heard a grunt and saw Retasu switch rapidly between her normal and Mew form. His brow furrowed in worry.

Keiichiro saw this and laid a comforting hand on Ryou's shoulder. "She'll be okay," he turned back to Minto and Zakuro, "Our business here is done; tomorrow we can go back to Tokyo."

The girls nodded and turned away to go to their rooms. "We'll see you in kitchen in a while," Minto opened the door to their room and closed it then both girls were in the room. "What do you think of all this about Ichigo and Kish?"

"I think it's possible. Kish already loved her from the beginning and I think with a lot of time alone with someone will make you like them whether you want to or not."

"Do you think that we'll ever find her?"

"I think that if they don't want to be found, they'll make sure they aren't found. I don't think we need to worry. Ichigo knows where we are, so if she needs to see us, she can. I daresay that Kish won't stop her; he might even come with her."

"What about Shin?"

"I don't think he'll cause that much trouble. He's only looking for Kish."

"But Ichigo is with Kish and he seemed interested…"

"Don't worry, unless Ichigo is seriously wounded, everything will be fine. Masha said that Kish took care of that. If I'm not mistaken, Kish obviously cares a lot about her and he probably did his best to bandage her up. Plus, she's a Mew Mew; she'll heal faster than a normal human."

"I guess you're right. I _hope_ you're right. And Retasu, I feel bad about the way we treated her."

"We'll apologize when she wakes up tomorrow."

Minto's stomach growled, "Let's go down and eat now."

Zakuro smiled, "Okay."

* * *

Shin was reporting to Deep Blue in an alternate universe. The entire landscape was a mutated green with smears of black and broken pillars floating in midair. 

"Have you located Kish?" a deep disembodied voice asked.

"I have gathered some clues. He is with the leader of the Mew Mews. I believe that I can find him within the week if I look for several hours every day."

"Good."

"What shall I do with him once I find him?"

"I would say kill him…but we need all the help we can get to save our planet. If he doesn't already know, tell him what is happening. He will come. He is loyal. He will come and help us. If I know him well enough, he will bring the girl if she is willing to come. He loves her and will not leave her behind unless he has to."

"But I thought—"

"Are you questioning my authority?"

"Iie, gomen, I will tell him as soon as I find him."

**End Chapter**

* * *

**Hey guys! finally i got this done! im so happy!!!**

**what do you think of this chapter?? feel free to ask questions. feel free to send numerous reviews :P**

**i have ideas for more stories :3 **

**REVIEW REPLIES::::**

**pshhnerdmuch::**BRING PAI AND TARUTO BACK!

pleease?

please

please

you're a good writer!

you can do it!  
**Sesshy's Lil Angel:: **i know i can, but it'll mess up the story line. GOMEN, i'll bring them back in their dreams...ya!!! that'll juice up the story. :D i'll bring them back, but only in the characters' dreams---gomen... it's the best i can do without messing up the storyline---i hope it's enough to satisfy you ;)

**okay everyone---review, Review REVIEW!!! because you guys know that reviews mean longer chapers and quicker updates----its a win-win situation.**

**thx for reading. please review. **

**ARIGATO!!!**

**xoxoxooxoxoxoxooxox**

**-lil angel**


	12. Troubling Dreams and Disastrous News

**Hey guys! Finally!! i spent years...days working on this and finally im done. i was soooo happy with the amount of reviews i got for the last chapter that i decided to move things along faster XD!!!**

**onegai, if you read this--even if you don't (:P), please, please, PLEASE review! **

**-arigato**

**-enjoy the chapter :D

* * *

**

Chapter 12-Troubling Dreams and Disastrous News

"_I'll kill you one way or another!" Ichigo found herself calling as she leapt out of the path of a raging attack. Ichigo looked down at herself and was surprised to find her old outfit and the Strawberry Bell clasped in her hand. _'This is…odd.' _She looked up and tried to find who was attacking her. A pale face topped off with dull purple hair looked at her pleadingly. The attack hadn't been out of dislike; it had been a desperate act. "Pai!"_

_Ichigo gasped when she saw what—who was in Pai's arms. Her arms dropped and she stared blankly. A little alien with light brown hair was limp and bleeding freely in Pai's arms. "Who did this?" _

_Anger flashed across Pai's face and he scowled at her. "Don't play with me wench! You know very well that _you _did this."_

_Ichigo was shocked, _'I—I'm so sorry,' _she tried to say, but what came out of her mouth was completely different. "You will suffer the same fate." A malevolent grin unfurled on Ichigo's face. _'What's going on? I can't control my mouth!' _Ichigo tried to back away but her legs wouldn't listen to her command. _'IIE! I can't control my body! What's happening?!' _Ichigo's hand held up the Strawberry Bell, "Strawberry Bell, FULL POWER." A beam of energy shot out of the Strawberry Bell and hit Pai's legs._

_Pai felt his knees buckle. The little alien slipped out of his grasp and rolled a little distance away. "Tarto!!" Pai's knees met the pavement roughly._

_Ichigo saw Pai meekly raise his fan and she tried to stop her body as it kicked Pai's hand, knocking the fan out of his hand. Ichigo walked up to Pai and stood in front of him, looking down her nose at him. "You don't belong here."_

_Pai looked up at her desperately._

_Ichigo cackled loudly. "Look at you. Kneeling before a human." _'Iie! I have to do something. There has to be a way that I can stop this!'

_Pai looked longingly at Tarto. "Do as you wish," he said despondently._

_Ichigo felt herself frown, "You're taking all the fun out of it. I'll give you 15 seconds to run. No teleporting by the way. That's cheating." Ichigo put something around Pai's neck. "That will kill you instantly if you try to teleport. Now, go. One…two…"_

_Pai looked hatefully up at her, "I refuse to play with you."_

"_Four—you have no choice in the matter," Ichigo kicked Pai in the chest and he went flying into a building. "Five…six…"_

_Pai scowled and began limping toward his weapon. When he reached it he noticed that it was broken. Pai threw it down angrily and continued limping away. "Where's Kish when you need him?"_

"_Eleven…twelve…thirteen…fourteen…fifteen. Ready or not here I come." Ichigo picked up a jagged piece of metal. It was from a broken building and it had a sharp point. "Hmm…I think killing him with this will be more amusing." Ichigo leapt slowly after Pai. He hadn't gotten very far. He was only a block away. "I see you," she taunted._

_Pai looked back at her fearfully and his eyes rested on the thin piece of metal in her hand. He sped up. _

_Ichigo aimed the metal, "Any last wishes?" when Pai didn't respond, Ichigo just smirked. "I guess that's a no." She flung the piece of metal and it hit. _

_The sharp end pierced Pai's head and he stopped moving. He fell and landed with an echoing thud. Pai was dead before he hit the ground. Blood gushed out and quickly formed a large puddle around Pai's head. _

_Ichigo laughed maniacally and spat, "You deserved that." She turned and began walking away. _'Iie! IIE! Why didn't my body listen? I tried to stop this! This wasn't supposed to happen! IIE!' _Ichigo finally seemed to get control over her body and she turned to look back at Pai. _

_A figure stood over him. The figure's shoulders sagged from helplessness. The figure turned around and it was Kish._

"_Kisshu-kun…"_

_Kish's face was contorted with sadness and he looked as if he himself were about to die. His eyelids drooped and his ears sagged. He brought his gaze up and looked forlornly into Ichigo's eyes. His vibrant, golden eyes were now dull and listless. He whispered one word, so low that no one should have heard. "Why?"_

_A black vortex appeared out of nowhere and swallowed up Ichigo._

_

* * *

Ichigo was standing over a cowering Pai and sneering. "Now you die." Ichigo held up her hand and before her eyes, it turned into an elongated point. She plunged her hand into Pai's stomach. His eyes widened and blood flew out of his mouth. His body slumped onto her hand and she shook him off impatiently. His body crumpled to the ground and his life slowly bled away._

_Ichigo urgently tried to control her body, but it was impossible. It was like a never-ending roller coaster. You want to get off, but the ride just won't stop._

"_Who's next?" Ichigo snarled against her will. _'Iie!'

_A thump sounded and footsteps slapped the sidewalk. Ichigo whipped around to find Tarto running for his life. Ichigo easily caught up with him and tripped him. Tarto fell hard, his knee scraping against concrete. Tarto turned so that he was on his back, staring fearfully up at Ichigo. Ichigo straddled him, so that he could not run away. She saw that fear had scared the boy half to death. _

_Ichigo smirked, "You'll be with Pai soon enough." Ichigo held up her elongated hand and pointed it at Tarto's head. _

_A shout sounded and Ichigo turned to look. Nothing. When Ichigo looked back, Tarto was not looking up at her, Kish was. The only difference was that Kish was not scared. He looked solemnly up at Ichigo and said, "You killed them. I will never forgive you."_

_Ichigo was suddenly able to control her body. She shook her hand and it returned to normal, but it still bore the bloodstains that had been on the elongated point. Ichigo frantically wiped her hand on the grass, but the blood would not leave her hands. Desperately, she looked back at Kish. Blood was trailing down from his mouth, and his eyes were glazed, Ichigo completely forgot about the blood on her hands. "Kisshu-kun! You're hurt! Are you okay? "_

_Kish's eyes were unfocussed but he heard an insistent voice somewhere, calling to him. He saw pale skin and bright pink hair gazing down at him anxiously. He locked his gaze on her. The first words that came to mind were, "Hello koneko-chan."_

"_Kisshu! Iie! Don't die! I need you! I didn't mean to kill them! Gomen! Don't leave me because of what I did! I love you!" Ichigo froze. Her heart pounded so hard that she thought Kish would hear it. She had said that she loved him. _'So it's true…' _A surge of warmth spread through her and she looked down. She was shocked to see an unhurt Kish smiling up at her. _

_She smiled back and whispered the words again. "I love you…" she leaned down and headed for his lips. Before she reached, she heard a clear voice in her head, _'Wake up koneko-chan,' _and everything went dark. _

* * *

Kish was lying next to Ichigo and gawking at her. She had been mumbling his name in her sleep. When Kish saw that beads of sweat were materializing on her forehead, he grew worried. "Wake up koneko-chan," he called softly. Ichigo stirred immediately, as if he'd screamed instead of murmured. 

Ichigo's eyelids were heavy as she looked around blearily. A cluster or dark green caught her eye. She blinked until her vision cleared. Kish was gazing at her worriedly.

Kish saw that Ichigo was indeed not okay. She had probably had a nightmare. Kish forced a smile and reached for Ichigo's face. He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and gazed at her. "Did I wake you?"

It was as if Kish had broken down a dam with those four simple words. Ichigo's tears flooded out. She threw herself (as much as she could in bed) onto his chest and wept. "Go-gomen! I-I didn't kn-know! I d-didn't m-mean to! You m-must hate me! Gomen!"

Kish was shocked. He knew what she was babbling about but he hadn't ever imagined that she would care so much. His arms wound around her and held her close. "I don't hate you. It's okay."

Ichigo cried for some time, but she eventually stopped. She listened to Kish's heartbeat. The two were so different…yet alike in so many ways. Ichigo tried to wrap her mind around what she'd realized in her dream. _'I love Kisshu-kun... Iie, I can't. It's impossible. He's an alien. I might not be in love with Masaya anymore, but that doesn't mean I love Kisshu…does it? ...Iie. Of course not.'_

Pain exploded in Ichigo's left shoulder. Her leg and her stomach throbbed just as hard. Ichigo cringed and cried out in pain.

Kish looked at Ichigo with worry. "Are you okay koneko-chan?"

"Iie, my shoulder, leg and stomach are killing me. I can't stand this. Do something. Onegai," Ichigo begged through gritted teeth.

Kish panicked, "How? On my home planet, the usual way to ease pain is to sleep; medicine for pain is much too expensive for the average family."

Ichigo squirmed uncomfortably, which only caused her more pain. Kish saw this and turned her so that she lay on her back. "Stay like this. Don't move. I'm going to try to find something to help you."

"Kisshu!"

Kish stroked Ichigo's face and shushed her, "Shhh, Ichigo. I'll be right back I promise, just sit tight and try not to move." Kish leaned close and planted a quick kiss on Ichigo's forehead, pulling forth a deep blush.

Kish hurried back to the closet where he'd found the bandages. There he found two whole shelves devoted to various medicines. Kish worked quickly. He began reading all the labels on the bottles. _'Tylenol...Advil...Reactine...' _Kish rummaged through the closet for some time before he found a bottle labelled _Painkillers_ in crude writing. He grabbed the bottle and teleported back to Ichigo. "I think this is it, koneko-chan. This bottle is labelled Painkillers, so I think it'll help..."

Ichigo held out her hand for the bottle. "Let me see," she instructed.

Kish gave her the bottle and waited for her reply.

Ichigo was unsure whether or not to take the medicine. It didn't appear to be issued by a doctor. Ichigo opened the bottle and peered at the tablets inside. The tablets looked official enough and Ichigo was in a lot of pain.

"Is this the right medicine?" Kish asked anxiously.

"Hai, Kisshu, can you get me a glass of water to drink with this?"

"Sure," Kish teleported downstairs and brought up a cool glass of water.

Ichigo struggled to sit up and took the glass of water from Kish. "Arigato," she took one of the pills out of the bottle and swallowed it. She gulped down the water and put the glass onto the bedside table. Her pain was already subsiding. Ichigo sighed as relief washed over her and smiled at Kish. "Arigato."

"Anything for my little neko," Kish said.

"Kisshu-kun, now that I took the painkillers, do you think that maybe I could get up?"

"...I don't know. Do you want to get up?"

"Hai, I don't think that I could stay in bed all day even if I wanted to," Ichigo replied.

"If you're sure..." Kish offered his hand to Ichigo.

Ichigo took Kish's hand and he helped her up. When Ichigo put weight on her left leg, pain shot through it. She cried out and immediately took all her weight off of her left leg. She lost her balance and began to fall.

Kish caught Ichigo in his arms and scoffed playfully, "You're such a klutz." He held Ichigo and straightened up. "Still want to get up?"

Ichigo looked up at Kish innocently and nodded. She blushed when Kish didn't look away from her. She was very aware that she was still in her new Mew uniform.

Kish suddenly grinned, "Where to?"

Ichigo smiled, "Kitchen. Before we go, can I get a robe? I saw a red fluffy one in the closet."

"Anything you say," Kish walked slowly to the closet and got the robe. He helped Ichigo get into it before heading toward the hallway, "Elevator or stairs?"

"Umm, I think stairs," Ichigo said, enjoying the feel of Kish's arms around her.

"As you wish," Kish walked toward the stairs. He felt Ichigo snuggle into him and made his way at a leisurely pace downstairs. When they finally reached the kitchen, Ichigo was wide-awake. Kish helped Ichigo down onto a chair and asked her what she wanted to eat.

"Umm... I don't know. What time is it?"

Kish looked around the kitchen to find a clock. "11:45."

"Well, it _is_ still morning...I guess. I think we should eat omelette and pancakes. Do you know how to make that?"

Kish stared back at her blankly.

"Maybe I should make the food," Ichigo began to get up but stopped when Kish shook his head.

"You can't even stand. You're not making food until your leg is better."

"Okay," Ichigo was surprised at how protective Kish was being.

"Are you okay with eating cereal again?"

"Hai."

Kish brought cereal, milk, bowls and spoons to the table.

The two ate in silence, thinking over the recent happenings. As they ate, Ichigo developed an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and Kish became slightly nervous as well.

They both thought something bad was coming and neither of them was wrong.

* * *

Shin had started immediately when he had left the presence of Deep Blue. He had begun to check each mansion in Japan. He had gone at a fast pace, knowing that it would take him a while. If he kept up at this pace, he might even find it within the week. Shin systematically looked through each of the mansions, looking for their occupants. So far, humans had inhabited each mansion. 

Soon, Shin came upon a mansion surrounded by trees. A winding path led up to the mansion. There was a large iron gate blocking the path up to the mansion. In front of the gate Shin saw something peculiar. There were about twenty men littering the ground in front of the gate. They were all dead. _'This is new,' _Shin thought to himself.

He saw an open window in one of the fifth floor windows and jumped through it. He decided to look upstairs first and crept up the stairs. All the floors above were void of people. The only thing that indicated that this house wasn't empty was in the main bedroom where medical supplies were strewn across the floor and dishes were on the bedside table. _'Hmm, there was a fight with those men and one of them got injured,' _Shin smirked, '_Typical Kish.'_

Shin went downstairs and eventually reached the main floor. By then, he wasn't on guard anymore and he waltzed into the kitchen, expecting it to be empty. He was wrong. There, sitting on the table were Kish and a girl with shoulder length red hair tied up in a ponytail. Several locks of red hair framed her face and she looked tired. Shin was shocked, he'd let his guard down, if it had been humans, he would have had a hard time explaining himself.

Kish gaped at the newcomer. Ichigo noticed this and turned to see what Kish was staring at. Her spoon slipped from her fingers. Kish growled and was immediately in between Ichigo and this strange new alien. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Shin was amused. "Hello Kish and Ichigo."

Kish's weapons appeared his hands and he got into his battle stance. "Who are you?" Kish repeated.

"My name is Shin."

"What do you want?"

"I was sent by Deep Blue."

Kish growled deeply at the name. "If you want Ichigo, you're not getting her."

At this Shin laughed. "Keep her. I'm here to pass on a message."

"What kind of message?"

"Put away your weapons and I'll consider telling you."

"You're in no position to make demands!" Kish snarled.

Ichigo knew that their bickering could go on for hours. She turned and took Kish's hand. "This might be important. Come sit, both of you and we'll discuss the message."

Kish reluctantly got rid of his weapons and sat back down. Shin sat down across from the two.

"Kish, do you remember the conditions on our home planet?"

"How could I forget?" Kish answered coldly, glaring at Shin.

Shin ignored Kish's attitude and continued. "Well, it just got a lot worse."

Kish's eyes widened, "How can it get worse? It's already as bad as it gets."

"These robot-like beings that call themselves Drones are attacking our planet. People are dying every day."

Ichigo gasped and Kish leapt to his feet, "Iie!"

Shin looked upset. "There are only a select few that can fight. We don't have enough to fight them. If we don't find a way to hold them off...all is lost."

"You're lying!" Kish shouted, as if yelling it would make it untrue.

"Now, we think that there is a mother ship. And since these _are_ robots, if the mother ship is destroyed, they should all be destroyed."

Kish sat back down looking stricken, "What can I d—"

"What can _we_ do?" Ichigo interjected. Ichigo reached over and squeezed Kish's hand. "If you're going, then so am I."

"But Ichigo, you're injured..." Kish argued.

"I'm a Mew Mew; I'll heal faster than a regular human," Ichigo countered.

"Why isn't Deep Blue going to help out?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me," Shin replied.

"Why aren't you helping then?"

"I was going to go, but Deep Blue told me that while everyone will go to help out at home, someone needs to stay here to try to win over this planet for our people."

"You'll never win," Ichigo and Kish said in unison. Ichigo looked at Kish in surprise.

Kish shrugged, "If three of us couldn't win, then he won't be able to win and besides, my planet needs all the help it can get."

"You'll be wasting your time if you stay here," Ichigo said, "you'd be more useful back on your planet."

Shin tensed, "I know that, but Deep Blue says that I have to stay here and try to overtake the planet, so I'm going to stay here—"

"While your family dies to the hands of those monsters?" Ichigo interrupted.

Shin looked guilty, "It's more complicated than it sounds."

"Iie, it's not. Are you loyal to your family, who has always been there for you or your boss who only wants you as a killing machine?"

"My family of course but—"

"There are no buts to it, you love your family, so go and help them," Ichigo cried out. "How do you think that your family will feel if they find out that you've left them to die?"

"I have no way of getting back," Shin said, looking convinced of what he had to do.

"Why don't you just teleport there?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"We can't teleport between planets. We can teleport anywhere on the planet but not from planet to planet," Kish informed her.

"Then you can come with us," Ichigo concluded.

Kish looked unsure. Ichigo kicked him under the table and shot him a look. Kish glanced at Ichigo and agreed, "Okay, you can come with us."

Shin looked relieved, "But you have to heal first don't you?" He asked, addressing Ichigo.

Ichigo blushed, "Hai... it might take a week or two..."

"We don't have that long..." Kish said. "Hey Shin, do you by any chance have any of the medicine from back home? Our medicine works wonders on humans. With that, she'll be healed up in a couple hours. If you have that, then tomorrow morning we can be on our way."

"Hai, I have some," Shin said.

Kish looked excited. "Do you have some right now?"

"I'll be right back," Shin said, teleporting away.

Kish gazed at Ichigo, "Ichigo, are you certain you want to risk everything just to help me and my home planet?"

"It's the least I can do. I owe you."

"Iie, I kidnapped your fur ball and you. I've been trying to kill you and you're friends for so long. Even Masaya, I've tried to kill almost everyone you know. How can _you_ owe me?"

"You saved my life. You fixed Masha and you always went easy on me, Kisshu, don't argue with me. And now, you're going to save me the pain of having to heal at my own pace, you're going to heal me with your medicine. Kish, I'm going with you no matter what you say," Ichigo stated.

"I agree with her."

Kish and Ichigo glanced at who'd spoken, and then gazed back at each other. They both blushed embarrassedly. Shin was standing there smirking and holding a bag in his hand.

"Fine," Kish huffed, "but if you get hurt..." he looked away.

Shin gazed at the two and thought to himself, _'They quarrel like children. Is she the one that Pai and Tarto told us about? Kish certainly seems to like her... Iie, she can't be the one, Pai said that the one that Kish loves doesn't love him back. This one definitely feels something for Kish.' _

"Arigato, Shin-san," Ichigo said, accepting the bag from Shin's outstretched hand; she smiled at him then turned to Kish. "Gomen Kisshu-kun, but I can't let you go by yourself. I'd worry too much about you. Now, could you please help me upstairs with this medicine?"

Kish sighed and turned back to face her. "Okay." He got up and lifted Ichigo in his arms, at Ichigo's signal, he stopped at the doorway.

"Shin-san, could you do me a favour?"

"Hai, I owe you for letting me come with you. What do you want me to do?"

"Could you put the milk in the fridge, the cereal in the cupboard and the dishes in the sink?"

"Hai."

"Arigato," Ichigo signalled for Kish to continue up the stairs.

When the two arrived in the bedroom, Kish lay Ichigo down on the bed.

"Do you need to wash the wounds first?" Ichigo asked nervously.

"Iie, this cleans the wound and _then_ heals it," Kish said, helping Ichigo out of the robe. "At first it's going to hurt. After that, the pain just leaves. You'll be okay." Kish assured Ichigo when he saw how nervous she was. "You need to relax Ichigo."

"Okay..." Ichigo relaxed her body and tried to think of something else.

Kish started at her leg. He took the bandage off from her leg and opened up Shin's bag. He pulled out the correct medicine. It was a cream and he squirted a bit out and rubbed it onto Ichigo's wound.

Ichigo felt Kish's light touch on her leg, applying the medicine. It seemed as if the painkillers had worn off and doubled her previous pain. Ichigo grit her teeth and after a few minutes of extreme pain, the pain faded away and left her leg feeling numb. Ichigo felt that by now, Kish had removed the bandage from her stomach. He applied the cream and Ichigo's eyes filled with tears. Her face contorted in pain as she stopped herself from crying out. Soon, the pain died out and she sighed out in relief. Ichigo looked for Kish and found him at her shoulder. The bandage was already gone.

"I'm sorry koneko-chan. This one will probably hurt the most, since it's closest to your heart." Kish squirted out some cream and whispering apologies, applied it to her shoulder.

Ichigo's shoulder was on fire. She screamed and tried to move away. She couldn't; Kish was holding her down.

"The more you move Ichigo, the more it's going to hurt. Take a deep breath and count to ten."

Ichigo did her best to stay still and soon the pain receded. Suddenly, the fire was doused with cool water. Ichigo sighed. "Are you sure this will work?" Ichigo asked as Kish was bandaging her wounds with fresh bandages.

"Hai, once we used it on a human who had worse injuries than you do and he was on the brink of death. He was all healed up by nightfall. Trust me; you'll be better within several hours. Just stay in bed. When we take the bandages off, there won't even be a scar left," Kish pulled up the blanket and tucked Ichigo in. "Sleep now."

"But I'm not sleepy," Ichigo protested.

"I can fix that, I saw some sleeping pills in the closet. I'll be back in a second," Kish teleported to the closet and fetched the sleeping pills. He teleported back up to Ichigo's room, gave her the bottle and grabbing the glass, filled it up in the bathroom. He came back and giving it to Ichigo watched her take the drug and fall asleep. "Goodnight my precious koneko."

Kish teleported down to the kitchen to find Shin waiting for him. "We need to talk," with that, the two discussed issues concerning Deep Blue, the Drones and then formulated a plan.

* * *

Café Mew Mew was as busy as ever. It was even harder on the girls since they were weakened by their injuries (which were almost healed) and strained by worry. 

"Excuse me, I've been waiting forever, can I get what I ordered now?"

"I'm hungry, get me my order!"

"I could get better service at that diner downtown, I'm leaving!"

"You could at least take my order."

"You people _suck_. I'm leaving."

These were some of the kinder remarks that the dissatisfied customers called out as many of them stormed out of the restaurant. The four girls were overworked and tired. They kept glancing at their watches, looking forward to the morning shift ending.

Finally, the clock struck 1:00. The café vacated itself and the girls plopped into chairs.

"Face it, we're nothing without the Ichigo. She usually did all the work," Zakuro said.

"Yeah, we need to hire someone else," Minto agreed.

"We should talk to Keiichiro and Ryou about that," Retasu put in.

"Totally," Purin said.

Just then, Ryou and Keiichiro walked in.

"We need to hire more staff," the girls said in unison.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. This café is our headquarters and if it was infiltrated by regular humans, your secret would be in danger," Keiichiro replied.

"And if that were to happen..." Ryou trailed off, knowing that the girls were aware of the consequences. "We know that it's hard on you and starting this afternoon, I will help wait the tables. Keiichiro would help, but he needs to make the food. I don't know if that'll be enough, but I'll do my best."

The girls thanked Ryou and most of them said that they had places to be. Retasu didn't, so she offered to stay behind and clean up the restaurant. The other three changed out of their uniforms and hurried out of the restaurant. Ryou helped clean up and within forty-five minutes, the place was as good as new.

"Hey Ryou, is there a bed back there?"

"Hai," Ryou led Retasu into a room upstairs and told her that she could rest there. Ryou left Retasu to go downstairs and help Keiichiro.

Retasu soon drifted off to sleep.

_

* * *

Wind whipped through Retasu's hair. She looked around at her surroundings. A park; she was in a park; but not any park on Earth. Suddenly, it became hard for Retasu to breathe. Retasu looked around to find out what was happening. She gasped when she saw the sky. "Oh my God!" The sky was an ugly greenish-orange colour and beyond that, black was faintly visible. 'What's happening?' __Retasu was more frightened than she'd ever been in her entire life. _'What's happening?' 

_Retasu ran for what seemed like forever. Eventually, she was out of breath and she had to stop. She was still the park; the same spot from where she'd started running. It was as if she'd run on the spot. The only thing that had changed was that the sky looked even more repulsive than before and a long, dark shadow stretched toward her. _

_Retasu followed the shadow and watched it split into two figures. At first she was petrified, but then she realized that it was two people pulling out of an embrace. She hurried along until she came upon the two. When she saw who it was, she froze. _

_Ichigo and Kish. They were both dirty and looked tired. Ichigo had her ears and tail, but she wasn't wearing the familiar pink dress. Her clothing was different. Red. It was short shorts and a short jacket over a skin-tight top. At her waist were two sheaths. _'That's strange…' _Their arms were entangled and they were looking at each other affectionately. Ichigo reached up and stroked Kish's face. She smiled at him and leaned into him, she paused just centimetres from Kish's mouth. "I love you," Ichigo whispered, a sound that was for Kish's ears alone carried on the wind to Retasu her face reddened._

_Kish smiled and replied huskily, "I love you too." He closed the short distance between their mouths._

_Retasu blushed madly and tried to look away. She couldn't. How could Ichigo love Kish? He had tried to murder her numerous times, yet here she was, allowing him to stick his tongue into her mouth. _'I have to stop this! How can I let our leader fall in love with our enemy?' _"Ichigo!"_

_Ichigo's cat ears twitched and she pulled away from the kiss. She gazed around suspiciously but she lightened up when she saw Retasu. Ichigo held up her hand and was about to wave when a thunderous noise sounded. _

_Ichigo's smile faded and she ogled at the sky above Retasu. Retasu turned to look and gawked at what was coming. A small jet was flying in from a distance at break-neck speed. Straight for Ichigo and Kish. Apparently Kish had seen it too. He gripped Ichigo's face and turned it to face him, "I love you." He kissed her passionately._

_The crash of the jet was deafening as it obliterated Ichigo and Kish. Retasu's eyes widened as she was thrown back violently by the force of the crash._

* * *

Retasu was sweating when she shot up into a sitting position. Her surroundings spiralled into focus and Retasu found herself in a room above the café. She glanced at the clock; 2:30. _'The café reopens at 4:00, I still have time to sleep…' _Retasu lowered herself back down to the bed and tried to get back to sleep. She couldn't. She tried for half and hour, but her horrifying dream didn't leave her mind. 

Retasu stood up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. In fifteen minutes, she went downstairs and joined Keiichiro and Ryou in front of the large computer. The screen flashed red and they looked troubled. A window popped up and Retasu read along with the boys.

**ICHIGO HEAL BY END OF DAY.**

**NEWCOMER NAMED SHIN.**

**TOLD KISH ABOUT DANGER.**

**TOGETHER, THEY WILL FIGHT.**

**ICHIGO WANTS TO FIGHT WITH ALIENS.**

**DANGER ON ALIENS' PLANET.**

**ICHIGO GOING TO KISH'S PLANET TOMORROW WITH HIM AND SHIN.**

**TOGETHER THEY FIGHT.**

**MASHA NO GO WITH ICHIGO.**

**MASHA RETURN TO TOKYO.**

**ICHIGO AND KISH FRIENDS.**

**GOOD FRIENDS.**

**KISH PROTECT ICHIGO.**

**TOGETHER THEY WIN.**

**THEY GOING TO BE OKAY.**

**MASHA HOPES.**

**-MASHA**

Retasu was shocked, her dream had been right. The message flickered out, leaving the three of them stunned and gaping at the screen.

"Damn!" Ryou cried, banging his fist on the table.

Retasu laid her hand on Ryou's shoulder, "What're we going to do? Ichigo could get hurt." Retasu decided not to worry anyone with her dream. "Why would Ichigo _want_ to go with Kish? I don't understand."

Keiichiro turned around to face Ryou and Retasu, "Remember what Masha said? Ichigo and Kish are friends; good friends. I think that—"

"Don't say it," Ryou interrupted.

"They're falling in love," Keiichiro finished.

Ryou's eyes burned. "Iie, how can anyone fall in love with those monsters?" Ryou couldn't stand the aliens, they had caused his parents' death and now his lead Mew Mew was falling in love with an alien.

Retasu looked shocked, Ryou had never displayed such anger before. "Ryou… They're people too."

"She's right you know," Keiichiro said cautiously.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ryou stood abruptly, startling Retasu and stormed out of the room.

"He'll be okay," Keiichiro said in answer to Retasu's worried look.

"Is Ichigo going to be okay?" Retasu asked in a quiet voice.

"We can only hope," Keiichiro said.

Tears for her best friend and leader sprang to Retasu's eyes. She ran from the room. She had to tell the other Mews and together they would do something. No matter what.

**End Chapter**

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**-hope you enjoyed it. now, if you want a really really good chapter next time, REVIEW! you can review more than once by the way. :P **

**anyways, more review mean faster updates and LONG chappies. (i'll let you in on a secret, i wasn't going to update for this story until the end of March, but then i looked at the number of reviews and i thought '_they deserve it,' _so i updated) now please REVIEW so that i can update soon.**

**feel free to ask questions.**

**thanks for reading, please review**

**ARIGATO!!!!!!!**

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**-lil angel**


	13. Hasty Reunions and Sombre Goodbyes

**DON'T KILL ME!!!!!! i had this chapter ready almost a week ago, i just didn't have to time to update, (cowers under arms) well i finally got it ---lots of fluff between ichigo and kish . **

**REVIEW REPLIES:::**

**digiwildfire**:does 'onegai' mean please?  
digiwildfire  
**Sesshy's Lil Angel:** yup :D

**lol okay, ENJOY!!! (and review afterwards)

* * *

**

**Chapter 13-Hasty Reunions and Sombre Goodbyes**

Ichigo awoke sweating from yet another nightmare. This time, Tarto and Pai had been kneeling in front of her with their hands clasped and desperate looks on their faces. They were begging her. _What_ they were begging her for is what surprised her. They were begging her to make all the pain go away. To make it all stop. Ichigo took what appeared to be a sword and beheaded the two. Then she'd turned and found a bloody Kish begging similarly in front of a clone of herself. _"Tomare!" _she'd cried, and sprinted forth. She tackled Kish to get him out of the way and she realized too late that _she_ was in path of the sword. The sword came down on her and she woke up. Ichigo brought her hand up to scratch her head and noticed that her ears had appeared. _'Oh well.'_

Ichigo turned her head to view the clock, 5:00p.m. _'I went to sleep before 1:00, so… I should be all healed up by now.' _Ichigo looked around the room for Kish. She saw him sleeping on a chair beside the bed. "Kisshu-kun…" She trailed of when she saw him stir.

Kish had just drifted off into a light sleep when he heard his name being called. He fought the sleep and struggled into wakefulness. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and searched for whoever was calling to him. It was Ichigo. Kish saw that she was awake and grinned sleepily. He glanced at the clock and said, "Afternoon koneko, you're up earlier than I expected." He yawned and got up unsteadily. "You called?"

Ichigo giggled at how sleepy he looked. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was dishevelled. His ears were drooping and his golden eyes were half-lidded. Ichigo laughed harder when she noticed him pout. "You sure look sleepy," she teased.

"You look no better," he countered. Indeed, Ichigo did look as bad as him if not worse. Her hair stuck up at odd angles but her clothing, being skin-tight, wasn't wrinkled. Her ears sagged sleepily, twitching at sudden sounds and her eyes were barely open.

Ichigo stuck her tongue out at Kish and tried to awaken herself further.

Kish chuckled, "Is this why you woke me up? 'Cause if it is, I'm going back to sleep."

"Do you think I'm healed up by now?"

Kish glanced at the clock and thought for a second. Then he looked at her and nodded. He was awake now. "Here, let me get rid of those bandages." Kish walked over to her leg and carefully removed the bandages. Sure enough, the cut was gone. He took the bandages off of her stomach and that wound was also gone. When he stripped the bandages off her shoulder, that injury was also gone. Kish beamed at Ichigo, "You're good as new!"

Ichigo tried moving her body; no pain surged through her limbs. She felt herself grin. She was a little stiff, but that could easily be fixed. Ichigo shot up and hugged Kish. "Arigato." She pulled away a little and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Kish felt himself blush at her kiss. "You're welcome." He grinned and was about to lean down and kiss her back when his stomach rumbled. He backed away, leaving her sitting up.

Ichigo snickered and teased, "Hungry are we?" Her own stomach complaining stopped her teasing. She laughed nervously and looked up at Kish, "You didn't hear that by any chance did you?"

Kish smirked, "Of course I did Kitty-Cat."

Ichigo pouted, "You could at least have some manners and offer me some food. Humph!" she crossed her arms and looked away.

Kish grabbed a clean rag from the ground and draped it over his lower arm as a butler would. He leaned over and offered his rag-covered arm. "May I have the pleasure of escorting you to the kitchen, fair lady?"

Ichigo looked back and giggling, took his arm. "Why, of course. I could never refuse such a chivalrous offer from such a… dashing young man." She resisted the urge to burst out laughing and played along.

Together, they walked to the elevator and took it down to the kitchen. When they arrived, Kish gestured to a chair, "Have a seat darling."

"Why thank you, but I'm afraid I must decline your generous offer."

"May I ask why?"

"Because my good sir, I am going to make the food and I cannot do that while sitting at the table, now if you would please… escort me to the stove."

"Certainly," Kish walked to the stove and stood in front of it while Ichigo thought about what to make. "Having trouble letting go of my arm koneko-chan?"

Ichigo blushed and immediately pulled her arm back to herself. "I was thinking."

Kish smirked, "And my arm… helps you think?"

Ichigo turned bright red and turned to the cupboard. "Go sit at the table if you want any," she ordered.

Kish's smirk widened as he went to the table and sat down.

"Hey, where did Shin go?"

"Oh, I let him stay in that blue room up on the top floor. I'll go call him down." Kish teleported away and returned with a very awake Shin. He looked as if he'd had time to clean himself up, which he did.

Ten minutes later, the food was ready. Ichigo had made rice. She put it into three bowls and looked for spoons. She found them and brought the food to the table. She placed a bowl in front of everyone then settled down to eat.

"What about chopsticks?" Kish asked.

"I hate chopsticks, they're so troublesome and it takes _years_ to eat with them," Ichigo said.

"Right…" Kish saw Ichigo's glare and settled down to eat.

Twenty minutes later, Ichigo finished up and saw that the two aliens were sitting quietly and waiting for her to finish. "I'm a slow eater okay?"

Kish grinned and taking all the dishes, deposited them in the sink. He returned with a serious look on his face. "Shin, do you think that Deep Blue knows your here?"

Shin looked thoughtful, "I don't think so. If he knew, he would've come by now. He still thinks that I'm looking for you two."

Kish turned to Ichigo, "If you want to come along, you need to pack everything you need with you now. I can't guarantee that my planet will have everything you want."

Ichigo nodded, "What time are we going to go?"

"Early," Shin answered, "our ship travels at light-speed. Even then, it will take 48 hours to find the black hole, get through it and arrive at our planet. We need to arrive in the morning so that we have time to make arrangements for our stay and so on."

Ichigo took in this information, tomorrow morning she would be heading to another planet. In two days, she would be _on_ another planet. She would be the first human to step foot on another inhabited planet. "Wow... That's so cool..."

Kish and Shin looked at Ichigo quizzically.

Ichigo giggled self-consciously. Then it struck her, she might not come back. She might never see her family again. Her family might never know what happened to her. She turned and looked pleadingly at Kish.

"What?" Kish asked.

"Umm... Kisshu-kun, do you think that I could visit my family and friends before we go?"

"There will be no time tomorrow—" Shin began.

Kish saw Ichigo dejected expression and interrupted, "If you want to visit them, we will have to go now. There won't be any other time."

Ichigo beamed, "So Kisshu, can we go?" When he hesitated she put on a pleading face and added, "Onegai?"

Kish and Shin exchanged glances and Ichigo saw Kish nod slightly.

"YAY! Thank you so much Kisshu-kun!" Ichigo jumped up and without thinking about what she was doing, kissed Kish on the cheek and hurried upstairs to go change out of her Mew uniform and into something more comfortable.

Kish blushed a little when he saw Shin looking at him imploringly.

"You really like her don't you?" Shin asked.

"Hai, I love her more than anything."

* * *

After Ichigo had kissed him, she'd run off. Then she'd realized what she'd done and turned a deep red. Luckily no one else was around. Then Ichigo had realized what she'd been wearing and gotten even redder, if that was possible. Her Mew uniform was still on her, minus the little jacket. Ichigo wondered how she was going to manage to twist out of that. 

Ichigo got to the seventh floor and went immediately into the master bedroom. She tried to pull the top off, but it was skin-tight and impossible to remove. After several tries, she gave up. She stood still and clamped her eyes shut. She ventured into the crevices of her mind and tried to remember what she'd been wearing before she'd transformed. It had been a top, a skirt and a mesh robe. She imagined herself wearing those clothes and felt a cool sensation washing over her. She sighed in pleasure and opened her eyes when it was over. She looked down and she was out of her Mew uniform.

Ichigo decided she needed a bath so she went into the closet to choose some clothing to change into. _'Hmm... I think I'd be better off to not wear something so slutty... That way I won't feel so uncomfortable around Kish—I mean—guys.' _Ichigo chose out dark-blue, bell-bottom jeans and a long sleeved, grey, V-neck sweater. She looking in the dresser for some underclothes and found none that she would find comfortable. She went into the girls' room and found a drawer full of underwear. She grabbed the underclothes and a fluffy, pink towel before she went into the bathroom to shower.

Ichigo took a quick shower and dressed. She stood in front of the mirror and noticed that her hair had indeed gotten longer. Now, it was about two inches longer than it'd been before. She smiled to herself and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. She stepped out of the bathroom and back into the master bedroom. She found Kish laying on his back on the bed. His eyes were closed. Ichigo smiled to herself and put away her shower materials.

"Hey Kisshu..." Ichigo began. When she saw him open one eye and look her way she continued, "Do you think I should pack at home? None of this stuff belongs to me..."

"Koneko-chan... don't tell me that you don't want those clothes."

Ichigo frowned, "But they're not mine..." As Ichigo watched, Kish disappeared. "Huh?" She looked around for him, but saw no sign of him.

Kish reappeared behind Ichigo and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled her ear, enjoying the shudder that rippled through her. He whispered huskily in her ear, "But don't you _want_ them?" He brought his face next to hers and looked mischievously at her through the corner of his eye.

Ichigo took hold of Kish's arms and pressed her cheek against his. She couldn't help it; it just felt so... right. A tingle ran through her and a small moan escaped her parted lips. She sighed and relaxed in his arms. She closed her eyes and Ryou and Keiichiro materialized. Shame washed over her and she opened her eyes. She blushed and said, "This has to stop..."

"What has to?" Kish purred.

Ichigo opened her mouth to reply, but no words escaped her. She just moaned again and felt herself melt against him. Ichigo felt Kish move slightly so that he could hold her more comfortably. She felt his cheek rub against hers and a shiver flew through her. She lightly pulled apart his arms and turned to face him. She reset his arms around her tightly so that she was deep in his chest. Her arms wrapped instinctively around his neck and she pulled his head forward so he could rest his forehead against hers. She began leaning closer to him and her eyes drifted shut. That was a mistake. Ryou and Keiichiro appeared along with her injured friends and Masaya.

Ichigo opened her eyes and retracted her arms. She kept her forehead against his and murmured, "Stop doing this to me." She felt his arms loosen and she turned away. "Gomen Kisshu-kun." She looked down and couldn't turn back to face him for fear that he would be angry.

Kish wasn't angry at all. She had just admitted that she felt something for him. She'd just said that he made her act this way; made her act as if she had feelings for him. He was quite pleased with himself. He had enjoyed that little moment with her. It had been the highlight of his day. So far. He tried not to sound too happy when he said, "I think I saw some suitcases in the closet. I think two will be enough. Remember to take food." Kish turned to go and he pecked her on the cheek before walking away.

Ichigo stood dumbfounded. _'He's not mad...' _Ichigo suddenly realized that she had really wanted to kiss him. She cursed her friends for showing up at a time like that. Ichigo realized her sudden lust for him and blushed madly. Trying to forget about him and what'd just happened; Ichigo walked toward the closet and found many suitcases of different sizes. She chose two medium sized ones and filled one up with clothing and undergarments. She lugged the other one downstairs and filled it with non-perishable food items.

By the time that Ichigo finished packing, it was 7:00 and she'd totally forgotten about the little ordeal back in the bedroom and her runaway feelings after that. She walked up to Kish and said, "Let's go. I filled one suitcase with food and the other with clothes. Is that alright?"

Kish smiled, "Hai."

Just then Shin walked in and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Ichigo nodded enthusiastically and Kish turned to Shin, "Hey, do you think you could take the luggage? I'll have my hands full with her."

"Sure," Shin agreed.

"Where to koneko?" Kish turned to look at Ichigo.

"Umm... I think the locker room of Café Mew Mew will be fine." Ichigo said thoughtfully.

"Shin do you know where—" Kish began.

"Hai, I explored it when the girls were in Hiroshima. I know which room you are talking about." Shin walked up and picked up both suitcases. He looked at Kish and waited for the signal.

Kish nodded and turned to Ichigo, "This'll be fun." He smirked and wrapped his arms around her.

"What're you doing?" Ichigo demanded, blushing. "Aren't we leaving yet?"

Shin looked confused, "Yes we are; we're teleporting there."

Ichigo put two and two together and her eyes widened, "Hey, if we're teleporting there… KISH! Why didn't you just teleport me here in the first place?"

Kish grinned malevolently and purred; "I just wanted to feel you holding onto me for dear life." He noticed Ichigo's blushing and nodded at Shin. Before she could respond, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Ichigo felt wind throw itself at her and despite herself, huddled toward the only thing solid around her; Kish. Her eyes clamped shut and she waited for the wind to stop. She didn't have to wait long. Soon the wind died down and she was left huddled against Kish.

Ichigo slowly opened her eyes and a familiar surrounding surged into view. A back room of Café Mew Mew. She let go of Kish and ran out of the room, looking for someone; anyone from Team Mew Mew. No such luck, the café had closed and Ryou and Keiichiro had most likely gone out.

Ichigo returned to the males and told them that they'd return to the café later so they could leave the suitcases.

Together, they began looking for the rest of the team.

* * *

Zakuro, Retasu, Minto and Purin all sat in Minto's room. They were discussing what to do. Retasu had gathered them together hours ago and told them what was going on. Ichigo was going to another planet with Kish. 

"Either we find her right now or she's gone tomorrow," Retasu said.

"I still don't get it," Minto said, "why would she _want_ to go with Kish?"

"She likes him," Zakuro answered.

"Guys, that's beside the point. The point is that she's leaving and we don't know if she'll ever come back," Retasu cut in.

Purin yawned, "Well, if she wants to go…"

"She could die! What'll we tell her parents?" Minto said.

"Well, don't tell them the truth," a familiar voice said.

The girls turned to find Shin, Ichigo and Kish standing by the window. They didn't miss any details, Ichigo's arms were wrapped around Kish's neck and his were around her waist. Ichigo didn't seem to be complaining.

Ichigo noticed the girls staring and felt herself redden. She turned back to Kish and panicked at how close he was to her. She quickly unlatched her arms and brought them back to herself. She felt Kish retract his arms and looked back at him gratefully before backing away.

It took the girls a while to comprehend the fact that this was Ichigo. As soon as Ichigo was free of Kish, they all stood. Minto and Retasu ran at Ichigo and tackled her to the ground; smothering her in hugs. Zakuro helped Purin up and stood back, waiting for Ichigo to get free enough for them to greet her. Purin struggled to stay upright, her cast being big and clumsy.

Kish looked around to see that the girls still sported bandages. Minto and Retasu had finally managed to get off of Ichigo and were helping her up.

As soon as Ichigo was up she went and hugged Zakuro and Purin. "Oh Purin, your leg!" Ichigo noticed that the other girls also wore bandages on parts of their bodies. "Oh no, did Kish do all that?"

The girls exchanged glances and Minto finally cried out, "Of course he did! Don't you remember? The night when he took you?"

"Oh yeah…" Ichigo looked apologetically at the girls, "Gomen, so much has happened that I forgot… I'm sure that Kish is sorry as well." Ichigo turned and glared at Kish.

Kish hadn't been paying attention, so when Ichigo stamped up to him and rooted herself in front of him, he didn't understand her indignant expression.

When Kish hadn't responded to her tone of voice, Ichigo had stomped over and stood in front of Kish. She tried to make herself look tall and scary. That didn't work out so well because he's much taller than she is. She looked around for something that could make her taller and saw a chair. She hastily brought the chair and stood on it. Now she was taller than him. She looked glared down at him.

Kish finally noticed what Ichigo was doing. He looked up at her as she towered over him. He grinned and said, "Hi Ichigo."

Ichigo growled and took a threatening step forward. Fortunately for her, she had been standing at the back edge of the chair and now, she stood at the front edge. "Look here Kish—"

"But koneko-chan, I am looking. Do you want me to see something?" Kish looked up at her with a feigned innocent expression.

"Shut up and liste—" Ichigo tried to jab him with her finger but Kish stepped back a little just when she was about to poke him. Ichigo leaned forward a bit so that she could reach him. This time he didn't move, her finger jabbed him and she put some of her weight onto her finger so that her finger might hurt him more. That's when he stepped back. Ichigo lost her balance and pitched forward. "KISH!" Ichigo cried, flailing in the moment of weightlessness.

Kish had turned to look at Shin and shrug, so he didn't have time to catch her. Her cry made him turn just in time to see Ichigo falling toward him. He didn't have time to react and she fell on top of him, forcing him to the ground.

Ichigo lay on top of Kish. She groaned and was about to roll off of him when she got an idea. She sat up quickly and pinned him to the ground. She held his wrists down with her hands and sat on his torso.

Kish realized that she had him pinned and grinned up at her. His grin widened when he noticed her scowl. "Kitty want a kiss?" he mocked.

Ichigo glowered down at the grinning alien, "You need to say sorry to my friends!"

"For what koneko-chan?"

"Stop playing dumb! For injuring them!"

"If I do, will you get off of me?"

Ichigo felt everyone gazing at her and blushed, knowing how this must look. She grew embarrassed and nodded, "I will."

"Okay koneko-chan, whatever you say." Kish lifted his head and tried to see around Ichigo's body. "Gomen," he said. Kish dropped his head back and looked up at Ichigo, waiting for her to get up. She didn't. "You promised you'd get up koneko-chan… not that I mind…"

Ichigo had gotten over her embarrassment, but her cheeks were still tinged red, "Say it like you mean it."

"That wasn't part of the deal; you never stated _how_ I have to apologize."

Ichigo leaned closer and scowled at him, "You're so immature."

"I'm not the one sitting on someone."

"So?"

Kish shrugged, "I'm just saying that the fact that you're sitting on me indicates that you are much less mature than I am."

Ichigo pouted and stuck out her tongue, "Am not."

"Are too, I bet I could get out of this pin if I wanted to, I'm just mature enough to wait until you feel like getting off me. I don't want you to hurt yourself," Kish smirked, issuing a challenge.

Ichigo scowled again and leaned even closer, "I doubt you could get me off you. You're not strong enough." Ichigo caught his drift and met his challenge by leaning back with a smirk of her own.

"Really?"

"Really."

Kish used his leg to propel himself and kicked off. He rolled to the left and felt Ichigo's legs give out. He felt her little fingers let go of his wrists and grab at him to try to stop him.

Ichigo managed to grab his shoulders and kept the two rolling. Eventually they would hit a wall; all she could do was hope that it wouldn't be her who ended up pressed against the wall. If that didn't happen, she might've won this little brawl. Unfortunately for her, that was exactly what happened, she was the one caught between the wall and Kish.

Kish smirked and whispered, "I win."

Ichigo saw that he was getting up and she remembered the challenge. She wasn't about to lose so easily. She grabbed his ankle and pulled as he was walking away and he fell face-first to the ground. She quickly crawled over so that she was on top of his back.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you Kitten?"

Ichigo locked her legs around his waist and she wound her arms around his neck. "You're not going anywhere without me."

Kish smirked, "I wasn't planning on leaving you behind." Kish pushed himself and Ichigo up and stood. He saw everyone watching the two and blushing slightly, crossed his arms and adverted his gaze, "She started it."

Ichigo blinked when she heard him. She looked up and saw everyone staring. She turned a rich shade of red and said, "I can't turn down a challenge." She propped herself up on his shoulders with her elbows and pouted mulishly.

Kish saw Shin looking at him inquiringly and he just shrugged, "Just leave her there, she'll eventually get tired of my back and want to reacquaint herself with my front." Kish grinned when he felt Ichigo dig her elbows into his shoulders.

Minto, Retasu and Purin exchanged glances before bursting out in laughter. Zakuro just smiled. Eventually, their laughter died down and Retasu began to speak, "Ichigo, we know that you're going to Kish's planet with him and Shin."

Ichigo had been attempting to hurt Kish when she heard Retasu's statement. She froze and looked up at her. "How'd you…?"

"Masha told us," Zakuro answered.

"Oh Kish, we forgot Masha!"

"No, we didn't," Shin opened pulled something small and pink from his pocket and tossed it to Ichigo.

Ichigo reached out for it and almost caught it when she felt Kish teeter. She immediately brought her arm back and pressed her cheek to the top of his head. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited to fall. Instead, Kish straightened up and she heard laughing. She opened her eyes and everyone was laughing at her reaction. She buried her face in his hair again embarrassedly. "Bullies," she muttered.

"Anyways Ichigo," Minto continued, ending her fit of laughter, "we can't let you go."

"Yeah, I don't want to lose you Ichigo," Purin said.

"None of us want you to go," Zakuro said, seating herself on the bed.

Ichigo recovered from her humility and looked up, she looked sad. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go."

"Then take us with you," Purin cried.

"Iie," Ichigo and Kish said in unison. "We can't do that," Kish finished.

"I don't want to put you guys in danger. I love you guys and I could never voluntarily allow any harm to come to you."

"Onegai Ichigo," Retasu begged.

"Iie, gomen Retasu, I can't do that. How about this, if we need any help, we'll come back for you," Ichigo offered.

The girls were about to demand that they come with Ichigo when Ichigo spoke again.

"I won't have it any other way. As the leader of the Mew Mews, this is what I say is going to happen. Like it or not, you're not coming."

An awkward silence fell in the room. A bell sounded and footsteps could be heard coming up to the bedroom. The footsteps stopped outside the door.

"Minto dear," an elderly voice called, "you have visitors."

"Send them in," Minto called back.

The door opened and Ryou and Keiichiro stepped in. Minto's grandma closed the door behind them without looking into the room. Ryou and Keiichiro gazed around the room and their gazes locked on Ichigo on Kish and Shin.

Ichigo noticed the newcomers staring at her and the aliens and quickly slid off of Kish's back. She ran around him and up to the boys and embraced them both tightly. Keiichiro smiled down at her while Ryou glared at Kish and Shin. Ichigo took note of this and quickly ended the hug. She looked up at Ryou and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why are _they_ here?" Ryou growled.

Ichigo followed his gaze to the aliens and smiled. "It's okay; they're not here to fight. They're with me."

"What're you talking about? He's the one that kidnapped you!" Ryou took a step toward the aliens with an angry look on his face.

Ichigo retreated and stood in front of Kish protectively, facing Ryou. "Iie Ryou! Tomare!"

Ryou stepped up to Ichigo, "Move Ichigo, you're in the way."

Ichigo glared up at him, "Iie." She took a step back and bumped into Kish's strong chest. She tilted her head up to see Kish looking at Ryou with an amused expression on his face.

"Get out of here you _vermin_!" Ryou snarled, stressing the last word.

"Make me," Kish replied coolly.

Ichigo saw that the amusement had disappeared from his expression. His expression was now deadly. Fear clamped down on her heart, she could lose everything because of Ryou. She could lose the chance to see and save Kish's home planet. She could be forced to choose between her friends and Kish. To this, she used to have such a clear answer, now she didn't know which she'd pick. She didn't want to lose her friends _or_ Kish. Ichigo knew that if she didn't stop this soon, she would have to make that difficult choice. "Kish…"

Kish ignored Ichigo and continued glaring at Ryou. "You can't make me do anything."

Ryou growled and clenched his fists.

Ichigo turned to Kish and looked up at him. "Kisshu! Listen to me. Stop this. Onegai…" When Kish didn't respond, tears slipped out of her eyes and she used her hands to force him to look at her. "Onegai Kisshu-kun…"

Kish saw the desperate fear in Ichigo's eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears.

"Don't fight with him Kisshu," when he nodded, Ichigo turned away to face Ryou.

Retasu saw the little exchange between Kish and Ichigo and saw Ryou getting angrier with each tender action. She went forward and entwined her fingers in his. He looked at her and she hoped that her face told him what she didn't say. Apparently it did. Ryou's anger dried up and she led him back to the bed where Keiichiro was already sitting with Zakuro.

Ichigo noticed that Ryou had retreated. She smiled through her tears and said, "It was nice to see you all one last time… Goodbye." She turned back to Kish and pressed herself to him. "Let's go," she whispered.

Kish nodded and he and Shin teleported back to the locker room in Café Mew Mew. Shin picked up the suitcases and Ichigo told the aliens that she wanted to go to her house for the night. Shin nodded, saying that he knew where that was. They teleported there to find the house empty. A note was on the fridge telling Ichigo that her parents had gone on a trip.

Ichigo took Kish's hand and went to her room. She told Shin that he could stay in her parents' room. Ichigo lay down and looked at Kish. Kish answered her unspoken question by laying down next to Ichigo.

As soon as the two were under the blanket, Ichigo began to cry. Kish held her close and comforted her until she fell asleep. He himself didn't fall asleep so easily. He vowed that Ryou Shirogane would never harm his Ichigo again.

* * *

Minto flung a pillow at Ryou. "What's your problem? Couldn't you see that she wanted you to understand?" 

Ryou's anger had dried up and it wasn't about to return so soon. He stayed quiet while dodging pillows that flew at him. "Gomen, I couldn't control myself."

This just made Minto angrier, "She _just_ came back and you drove her away! She's never going to come back again!" Minto was hysterical now. She continued throwing pillows at Ryou.

Minto wasn't the only one who was upset. Purin was also upset, but instead of being mad, she was sad. Purin had started crying the instant Ichigo and Kish had disappeared. Zakuro had smacked Ryou and yelled at him. Retasu was also angry, but not as much. She didn't do anything. She went to the other end of the room and sat quietly, ignoring Ryou and the screaming Minto.

"LEAVE!" Minto screamed.

Ryou nodded and walked away, closing the door behind him. Everyone was in their own part of the room, seething.

"We have to find her," Zakuro said. "I don't think that they left yet. I think they're leaving tomorrow morning."

"What's the point?" Retasu asked, getting up and comforting Purin.

"So that we can say goodbye," Purin said.

The girls glanced at Keiichiro. Keiichiro nodded, "I think you should go. I'll check at the café. You girls go check her house. I think her parents are out. There's an extra key under the 'Welcome' mat. Check her room."

Together, the girls walked to Ichigo's house. Minto lifted the 'Welcome' mat and sure enough, there was the spare key. Minto picked it up and unlocked the door. The girls crept in and walked quietly up to Ichigo's room.

They found the door closed and quietly opened it. They flipped the switch and saw Kish and Ichigo sitting up on the bed. Ichigo's arms were wrapped around his torso and her head rested against his chest. Kish's arms were wrapped around her shoulders and his cheek was pressed to the top of her head. They both sported sombre expressions as they gazed at the girls and waited for them to say something.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry about what Ryou did," Retasu apologized.

"We all are," Zakuro added.

Ichigo nodded and smiled shakily, "I'll miss you guys, I really will."

The girls came forward one by one and hugged Ichigo goodbye.

Before they left, they turned to Kish, "If she comes back with even the slightest scratch, we're going to skin you," Minto warned.

"I won't let anything happen to her," Kish promised.

The girls nodded and left, switching the light back off. They locked the outer door and hid the spare key.

"I think she'll be okay. Kish is obviously going to do everything in his power to protect her," Zakuro said.

"I'm going to miss her," Purin said.

"Me too," Retasu said.

"Same," Minto chipped in.

The girls walked back to Minto's house silently and hoped for the best.

* * *

"Hey Kish…?" Ichigo began, when she was sure that the girls were gone. 

"Hai?"

"Arigato."

"For what?"

"Everything. I'm sorry I ever hurt you. I realize now that I…I need you. I'll do everything in my power to help save your planet."

Kish smiled, "…Just remember that if you ever need anything, anything at all… I'll be right here."

Ichigo smiled back at him, and snuggled deeper into his chest; ignorant of the strong bond that had formed between the two.

Together the two fell asleep, entangled in each other's arms. Each excited about the day ahead of them and both unaware of the danger and troubles that awaited them. Each just relished their temporary peace and enjoyed the feel of the other's arms around them.

**End Chapter**

* * *

**hope you loved it as much as i loved writing it!!!**

**oh, by the way, when it says that kish and ichigo fell asleep but when the girls walked in, they were awake, well kish was awakened by...the door opening and he woke her up. if you have any questions, any at all, feel free to ask. i love questions!!!!! TELL WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY!!!!!!!!!!**

**anyways, review REVIEW, _REVIEW!_!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 onegai???**

**thanks for reading.**

**i gotta run:(**

**xoxoxoxoxooxox**

**-lil angel**

**P.S. next time i'll try my best to update faster.**

**P.S.S. check out my oneshot "Kiss of Goodbye"---kishXichigo**

**P.S.S.S. luvvvvvvv u guys (MUAH)**

**P.S.S.S.S. REVIEW**


	14. Rainy Departures and Slow Songs

**_I'm SO sorry! i didn't mean to keep you waiting so long! i just had so much going on--so many assignments. i finally got around to it. please forgive me. i'm sorry._**

**Review Replies:**

**storyteller1333** : a ant that so sweet they still love ecother and looks like ryou still like her 2 :\ i wonder what kish's parents with think of his little kitten :0 update soon plz  
**lil angel : **i'm sorry to say that you might be a little disappointed in that ... area. i don't wanna give too much away but all i'll say is, it'll add to the plot. XD

**aik sachcha ruh : **Hey there! Alright, alright I'm reviewing already! ;P This was such an awsome chapter! I love the bond between Kishu and Ichigo it's so cute! I wonder what dangers and troubles they'll have to deal with? Will Retasu's dream come true?! Agh- too many questions! Please update soon. I love this story! Awsome job!  
Hugz  
Tory;D  
**lil angel : **well the dangerz and troubles will be very...heartrending. and it will make it hard for the characters to cope. but they will. retasu's dream...that's something that i'm considering. it would make it a whole lot more interesting. u kno, like a race against time to save to two... i'm pondering upon that. i guess we;ll know when we get that far.

**Kish Is My Obsession :** what does Tomare mean? and I totally think your story is great, the plot and everything! -zoey  
**Lil Angel : **tomare means stop. ARIGATO for the compliment!

**Most Unlikely Angel** : i'm loving this story so much! soo fluffy! yay! and it is a coincidence  
that i do have a question, are you going to continue the story onto the  
ship and the trip there and on the home planet and stuff?  
**Lil angel** : well the ship part---i'll think about it for next chapter. maybe. maybe not. i guess that's not much help, but i don't know myself. (shrug apologetically)

**ENJOY THE CHAPTER!! (and review afterwards**)

* * *

**Chapter 14-Rainy Departures and Slow Songs**

Ichigo woke up uncomfortably warm. The heat seemed to be coming from certain areas around her. She tried to pull away from the heat and found that it was quite hard. She attempted to open her eyes to see what was around her, but her eyelids were still too heavy from sleep. She moved her hands down and found something thin around her. She gripped it with both of her hands and pried it off of her. Once it was off, she rolled away.

Kish had been awake for an hour. He'd tried to get back to sleep, but sleep had eluded him. He'd settled for watching Ichigo sleep. A smile had unfurled on his face when he felt her stir. The smile had become forced when Ichigo had struggled to get out of him arms. He knew that she was asleep and that she was probably just hot, but he couldn't help feel his heart sink a little. He was disappointed that she'd pulled away. In fact, he felt a little embarrassed knowing that she'd struggled so much just to get away from him.

Kish let his smile fall and got out of bed, careful not to disturb to waking cat-girl.

Ichigo still couldn't open her eyes. She rolled onto her back and dragged herself through the stages of waking up. A familiar voice sounded and she stopped moving to listen.

"I'll be right back."

The voice stopped and did not give further details, so she continued her process. Ichigo pushed herself up and into a sitting position. She sat and worked to open her eyes.

Eventually a hazy picture came into focus and she saw that she was in her room. _'It's dark… that's weird.' _Ichigo got up shakily and went to the window. When she pushed aside the curtains, she saw that it was dark and raining outside. _'What?'_

Ichigo turned and looked at her clock. _'5:47! Why am I up so early?' _Ichigo wondered.

Her eyelids drooped and as soon as she closed her eyes, memories from last night surged back to her. She remembered what had happened earlier and turned scarlet. _'That was Kisshu! Oh my god! Thank goodness that I pulled away from him.'_ Then another memory surged back; one of how safe and secure she'd felt with the alien boy. It made her feel guilty. She immediately regretted thinking those words. She sat on her bed and remembered the voice that'd spoken to her when she was waking up. She'd been too sleepy to think about the emotion in the voice, but she was sure that he wouldn't be cheery when he returned from wherever he'd gone.

* * *

Kish teleported into a store which he'd seen earlier. He knew that it sold clothing suitable for every season. He went to the back of the store and found what he was looking for. As he searched for the right size, he became lost in thought.

'_She pulled away._

_She was asleep, don't worry. She didn't know what she was doing._

_What if she did?_

_People aren't coherent enough right when they wake up to know what they're doing._

_She hates me._

_No she doesn't. She doesn't hate you._

_Even after all the love I gave her, she _still _hates me. What kind of a person would be like that?_

_She doesn't hate you. Stop thinking like that.'_

No matter how much he tried to prevent it, Kish felt himself get angrier and angrier with Ichigo.

'_Give her a chance._

_A chance at what?_

_A chance to prove that she doesn't hate you._

_Okay, but if you're wrong…'_

Kish continued hunting for a size that he thought would fit Ichigo. He was still slightly mad and fully expected to be pushed away by Ichigo and told that her wanting to come with him was just a ploy to get herself back home.

* * *

Ichigo felt an overwhelming guilt and yearned for some company. She didn't want to disturb Shin while he slept so she figured that the next best thing would be music. She ruffled through her stuff in search of her iPod Nano. She found it under a pile of clothing on her desk. She picked up the pink, 30-gigabite device and realized that since she'd gotten this, she'd only listened to it once. _'That means that the batteries will last throughout the entire trip! Woohoo!' _Ichigo took the earphones and plugged them into her ears.

Just as she was going to turn it on, she saw the air ripple near her. She held onto the iPod and turned toward the ripple. Out of nowhere, Kish appeared. Indeed, he wasn't happy. She stood there, stunned. Eventually her senses returned and she smiled shyly at him.

Kish returned to Ichigo's room in an even worse mood. Now he was fairly upset with her and faintly insecure about Ichigo coming with him. He saw her timid smile and his fears retreated temporarily. He forced a smile and hoped that it looked sincere.

Ichigo was so relieved when he smiled back that she didn't notice that he was tight-lipped and that his eyes were guarded. She finally noticed what Kish was holding in his hands.

It was a dark blue parka with matching leggings. The rim of the hood was covered with fur along with the cuffs of the sleeves and the pants. The blue snowsuit was decorated with crimson and pink designs.

Ichigo shrieked in joy, "It's so cute!" she jumped forward and snatched the clothing out of his hands. When she took it, matching gloves, hat, scarf, boots and socks tumbled to the ground. Ichigo's grin spread to her ears. She dropped everything in her hands and leapt over to Kish. She threw her arms around him and pressed her face to his chest. "Arigato!"

Kish tentatively hugged her back. He smiled, _'Maybe it was nothing…' _but he was still upset.

"I love all this stuff… but why do I need all this?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that it's quite cold on my planet."

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, I remember one time, Keiichiro showed us a picture of your home planet and it was all snow… I packed all the thick clothes from the mansion."

"Try it on. See if everything fits."

Ichigo nodded and pulled everything on. It did fit her; in fact it was exactly her size. "How do I look?"

Kish smiled thinly, "Perfect." He turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Where're you going?" Ichigo asked to his retreating back.

When he didn't respond, Ichigo felt her guilt eating away at her insides. She stripped off her newest articles of clothing and stuck them into a bag. She pocketed her iPod and hurried out her bedroom door.

She decided not to bother Shin and went downstairs quietly. She scoured the house but didn't find Kish. _'Gomen Kisshu-kun! Gomen Kisshu-kun! Gomen Kisshu-kun! Gomen! Gomen! Gomen! Gomen!' _to herself, she repeated the words she desperately wanted to scream out. She went up to the one place she hadn't looked; her parents' room and without pausing, burst in.

Ichigo stopped when she saw the two aliens seated on the bed, discussing. She blushed at her rash actions and fidgeted, suddenly nervous. She tried to apologize but found that her mouth wouldn't say sorry. Instead, it said; "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

The cyniclons nodded and getting up, followed her down to the kitchen.

Ichigo made pancakes and the three ate in silence. They were all tense and lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Ichigo grew impatient and said loudly, "Hey, do you think I could take my iPod on the trip?"

Shin looked at her questioningly, but she was disappointed to see that Kish stared down at his food and ate methodically.

"What're you talking about? What's an iPod?"

Ichigo smiled. She fished the iPod out of her pocket and set it on the table, careful to keep it clean. "It plays music. The batteries are new, so I think they'll last the entire trip and some more. If the batteries do happen to run low, I'll just download the songs onto the ship hard drive before they run out."

Shin nodded though he still looked puzzled.

Desperate to keep the conversation going, Ichigo said, "It's raining out."

"What about it?"

"Will that be a problem?"

"Iie, it will not affect anything." Shin cast a sideways glance at Kish. He was unsettlingly quiet. _'I hope he's okay… I wonder what happened… was it something to do with the girl? I hope—'_

Shin's thoughts were interrupted by Kish getting up noisily. The chair scraped on the floor as he got up to take his dishes to the sink, never once looking at Ichigo. He left the kitchen and disappeared up the stairs. Shin looked over at Ichigo to see that she was gazing after Kish with a hurt expression on her face. "You should talk to him."

Tears welled up in Ichigo's large cocoa orbs. Ichigo kept silent and struggled to keep her tears off her cheeks.

Ichigo looked down at her food. Suddenly, it didn't look quite as good. Her appetite had disappeared with Kish. She looked at Shin and excusing herself, got up. Ichigo stuffed her iPod back into her pocket before she took her pancakes and put them on the counter, covering them. Ichigo turned and shuffled out of the kitchen.

Ichigo hurried up the stairs and up to her room. She paused in front of the door. She took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, letting the door swing open. Ichigo looked around the room.

It was empty.

No Kish.

Without having to go and check, Ichigo knew that Kish was no longer in the house. She exhaled noisily and plopped down onto her bed. She pulled out her iPod and placed the earphones delicately into her ears.

Once she was in the menu, she ran her thumb clockwise over the white circle to scroll through the songs. She found "_We Belong Together_" by Mariah Carey and pushed play.

_I didn't mean it when I said  
I didn't love you so  
I should have held on tight  
I never should have let you go  
_

Ichigo couldn't explain it but she felt that Kish was drifting away from her every minute. Ichigo could feel the emptiness gnawing away at her heart.

_I didn't know nothing,  
I was stupid, I was foolish  
I was lying to myself_

'_I think that the song might be right… maybe I _didn't_ mean it when I said I didn't love him. _Was _I just lying to myself?' _Ichigo heard her heart beat echo inside of her, silently begging Kish to come back.

_I couldn't have fathomed  
I would ever be without your love  
Never imagined I'd be sitting  
Here beside myself_

Ichigo felt an inexplicable need to be by Kish right now. To hear his teasing voice. To feel his strong body. To smell his soothing scent. To see his smiling face. To be near the one she loved.

_Guess I didn't know you  
Guess I didn't know me  
But I thought I knew everything  
I never felt_

With each heartfelt lyric, Ichigo's heart throbbed louder and harder. She felt her heart being ripped out by his absence. She felt her need for him grow stronger.

_The feeling that I'm feeling  
Now that I don't hear your voice  
Or have your touch and kiss your lips  
Cause I don't have a choice  
Oh what I wouldn't give  
To have you lying by my side  
Right here cause baby_

Ichigo yearned to feel his skin and to feel that safety embracing her again. More than anything else, she wanted to feel his lips pressed against hers.

_When you left I lost a part of me  
It's still so hard to believe  
Come back baby please 'cause  
We belong together_

Ichigo rolled over and wound her arms around her teddy bear. She buried her face into the teddy bear's fur and lay there, listening to the song. She hoped that the teddy bear in her arms would help fill the gaping chasm that had formed inside her; the gaping chasm that grew larger every time she thought about him.

_Who else am I gonna lean on when times get rough  
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone  
Till the sun comes up  
Who's gonna take your place  
There ain't nobody better  
Oh baby baby  
We belong together_

Ichigo removed her face from her teddy bear's fur and stared up at the ceiling. Somehow, she connected the dots on the ceiling to read _Ichigo X Kish FOREVER!_

_I can't sleep at night  
When you are on my mind  
Bobby Womack's on the radio  
Singing to me "If You Think You're Lonely Now"  
Wait a minute this is too deep  
I gotta change the station  
So I turn the dial tryin' to catch a break  
And then I hear Babyface  
"I Only Think Of You" and it's breakin' my heart  
I'm tryin' to keep it together but I'm falling apart_

Ichigo realized that whatever was happening to Mariah in the song was happening to her right now. The song was depressing her and she was beginning to panic at the lack of Kish's presence. She sat up and grabbed her iPod. She wanted to stop the song, but her fingers would not listen. She grew frustrated at her inability to stop the song. She wanted to stop it so bad, but something didn't let her. She furrowed her brow. She tried one more time to stop the saddening song. The same thing happened; she couldn't do it. She grit her teeth and her fingers clamped around her teddy's fur. She hurled the teddy bear at the wall. It hit the wall and fell to the ground limply. Tears ran from Ichigo's eyes as she listened to the song.

_I'm feeling all out of my element  
Throwing things, crying tryin'  
To figure out where the hell I went wrong  
The pain reflected in this song  
Ain't even half of what I'm feeling inside  
I need you, need you back in my life baby_

Ichigo got up and retrieved the teddy bear, "Gomen," she whispered into its fur, "I'm so sorry… I need you… Come back to me…"

_When you left I lost a part of me  
It's still so hard to believe  
Come back baby please cause  
We belong together  
Who else am I gonna lean on when times get rough  
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone  
Till the sun comes up  
Who's gonna take your place  
There ain't nobody better  
Oh baby, baby  
We belong together_

She gazed into the teddy bear's large, lifeless, brown eyes.

_When you left I lost a part of me  
It's still so hard to believe  
Come back baby please 'cause  
We belong together_

The light from the fluorescent bulb in her room was reflected in the teddy's large eyes, making it look like the bear could actually comprehend what she was saying. "I…"

_Who am I gonna lean on when times get rough  
Who's gonna talk to me till the sun comes up  
Who's gonna take your place  
There ain't nobody better_

"…love…" Realization poured through her and the teddy's joyous grin was met by Ichigo's small smile.

_Oh baby, baby  
We belong together_

"…him." The song ended and Ichigo knew what she had to do. She picked up her iPod and turned it off. She removed the earphones from her ears and put it back in her pocket. She wiped the tears off her face and put her teddy back on her pillow.

Warmth surging through her, she looked around her room. It seemed to be emptier than before. She looked for what was missing and saw that the suitcases and her new clothing were gone. _'So he's on the ship.' _

Before Ichigo went downstairs, she glanced out the window, it was still pouring. A big smile painted itself on her face and refused to leave. She loved rain. Pulling herself away from the window, Ichigo went downstairs and found that Shin had finished eating and was cleaning up.

"Oh Shin, you don't have to! I'll do it," Ichigo cried, embarrassed that she had left him alone in the kitchen to clean up the mess.

Shin smiled, "It's no problem."

Ichigo rolled up her sleeves and helped Shin clean up. Ten minutes later, they finished. Ichigo stood in front of Shin and said, "Let's go to the ship."

Shin looked at her, she looked refreshed, as if she'd just washed up after a good night's rest. "Where's Kish?"

"Kisshu is on the ship."

"Do we need to take your belongings?"

"Iie, Kisshu already took them."

Shin nodded.

"Oh, can we walk? I _love_ rain. I want to be able to feel the rain on Earth one more time before I go."

"But I hate getting wet…" Shin protested.

Ichigo went over and opened the hallway closet. She grabbed an umbrella and handed it to Shin. Ichigo fished her iPod out of her pocket and asked Shin if he could carry it. "I don't want it to get wet," she explained.

Shin took the umbrella and stared at it in wonder, "How is this stick going to help?"

Ichigo giggled, "Come." She led Shin out the door and opened up the umbrella for him.

Shin had the girl's slim device in his hand and the umbrella in his other hand. "This isn't helping."

Ichigo laughed harder, "You're supposed to stand under it, silly."

"Oh."

The two set out in the darkness toward the ship, with the rain plummeting down towards them.

* * *

Kish was perched in a tree a short distance from the Momomiya residence. He looked down at Ichigo as she showed Shin how to use some sort of expanding, rain-shield. A smile played on his lips when he saw her leap and twirl in the rain. Her reddish-copper hair glistened as the rain hit it and worked its way to the tips of the hair; there, it collected until it dripped off. All of it was beautiful. The way her eyes were wide and seemed to glow in the dark. The way her soft laugh tinkled and was carried away by the gentle breeze. The way the rain falling around her illuminated her, making her appear angelic.

Kish wanted nothing more than to leap down and sweep her off her feet. Then he would take her somewhere beautiful and they would live together forever. He shook himself out of his reverie and blinked when he realized that the two had disappeared from his line of vision.

Kish sighed as his moment of peace and forgiveness passed. He was again upset. Mad that things would never work out the way he wanted them to. It's not like his anger was for no reason. It was justified. Or so he thought. Kish teleported back onto the ship and grabbed a clean towel to dry himself off with. He went to his room on the ship and continued sulking. Soon he felt the ship vibrate as the entry way to the ship open and the heard the two step in.

Kish floated by the window and looked out the window. The morning was dark and rain dripped off every exposed surface.

Kish's ears twitched when he heard Ichigo walk up to his room. Kish looked at the door, but it didn't open. He saw a red light blink beside the door and realized that it would open soon. He whipped around so that his back was to the door.

He heard the soft _whoosh _of the metallic door slide open. He heard Ichigo move forward so that she was directly behind him.

"Gomen," she said to his turned back.

Kish heard this and ignored it in anger. She babbled all sorts of apologies, but he had tuned out. He was watching the rain streak down the window.

When the ship finally lifted off, Ichigo had left Kish alone to his thoughts to think about her apology.

When Kish heard her trip and stumble over something, he felt bad. Part of him had listened to her apologies, but her words were jumbled and illogical. Kish frowned and watched as the ground fell further and further away. Eventually, they exited the atmosphere and all was quiet.

* * *

Ichigo knew her words hadn't made sense, that's why she'd left. That and the fact that he wasn't listening. Shin had guided her to her room aboard the ship. She had thanked him then immediately turned and threw herself onto the bed. She buried her face in the pillow and tried desperately to muffle her crying. The pain she felt inside was so intense that she didn't know what to do.

She stared out the window when she was sure that her sobs were silent. She saw the clouds fall away beneath her. Eventually, she saw the dark abyss that had been cleverly named space. There was nothing but space up here. The darkness finally got to her and she turned away from the window. She remembered her iPod and pulled it out. Ichigo scrolled through the songs until she found one that suited her mood, "_Unfaithful_" by Rihanna seemed to fit into that category nicely.

_Story of my life  
Searching for the right  
But it keeps avoiding me  
Sorrow in my soul  
Cause it seems that wrong  
Really loves my company _

He's more than a man  
And this is more than love  
The reason that the sky is blue  
The clouds are rolling in  
Because I'm gone again  
And to him I just can't be true

And I know that he knows I'm unfaithful  
And it kills him inside  
To know that I am happy with some other guy  
I can see him dying

I don't wanna do this anymore  
I don't wanna be the reason why  
Every time I walk out the door  
I see him die a little more inside  
I don't wanna hurt him anymore  
I don't wanna take away his life  
I don't wanna be...  
A murderer

I feel it in the air  
As I'm doing my hair  
Preparing for another date  
A kiss upon my cheek  
As he reluctantly  
Asks if I'm gonna be out late  
I say I won't be long  
Just hanging with the girls  
A lie I didn't have to tell  
Because we both know  
Where I'm about to go  
And we know it very well

Cause I know that he knows I'm unfaithful  
And it kills him inside  
To know that I am happy with some other guy  
I can see him dying

I don't wanna do this anymore  
I don't wanna be the reason why  
Every time I walk out the door  
I see him die a little more inside  
I don't wanna hurt him anymore  
I don't wanna take away his life  
I don't wanna be...  
A murderer

Our love, his trust  
I might as well take a gun and put it to his head  
Get it over with  
I don't wanna do this  
Anymore  
Uh  
Anymore (anymore)

I don't wanna do this anymore  
I don't wanna be the reason why  
And every time I walk out the door  
I see him die a little more inside  
And I don't wanna hurt him anymore  
I don't wanna take away his life  
I don't wanna be...  
A murderer (a murderer)

No no no no

Yeah yeah yeah

This time Ichigo had sung along with the love song, what she didn't know was that someone was outside the door, listening. She sang along as the next began. This time it was "_She Will Be Loved_" by Maroon 5.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen  
She had some trouble with herself  
He was always there to help her  
She always belonged to someone else _

I drove for miles and miles  
And wound up at your door  
I've had you so many times but somehow  
I want more

I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile  
And she will be loved  
She will be loved

Tap on my window knock on my door  
I want to make you feel beautiful  
I know I tend to get so insecure  
It doesn't matter anymore

It's not always rainbows and butterflies  
It's compromise that moves us along, yeah  
My heart is full and my door's always open  
You can come anytime you want

I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved

I know where you hide  
Alone in your car  
Know all of the things that make you who you are  
I know that goodbye means nothing at all  
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls

Tap on my window knock on my door  
I want to make you feel beautiful

I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved

_in the background__  
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye  
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye _

Yeah  
_softly__  
I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain _

Try so hard to say goodbye

Ichigo sighed, "I wish I was loved that badly…"

"You are."

Ichigo jumped and looked up.

Kish.

Kish walked up to her with regret evident in his eyes. He clutched her arms and stood her up. His arms snaked around her and he hugged her tightly.

Ichigo's face burned.

"Gomen, I was stupid to get so worked up over nothing."

The next song started up in Ichigo's ears. It was "_Far Away_" by Nickelback. Ichigo pulled her arms free and taking one earphone out of her ear, placed it gently into Kish's, all the while keeping eye contact.

_This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long too late  
Who was I to make you wait  
Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know, you know, you know_

Ichigo pulled her arms free of his tight hug and wrapped them around his neck. She gazed up into his majestic, golden orbs.

_I love you  
I've loved you all along  
I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

She saw him looking down at her curiously, but she just smiled and shook her head. _'Don't wreck the moment.' _He seemed to get the message because he smiled back at her.

As Ichigo stared into Kish's molten orbs, she could see how truly happy he was to be here. As she stared on, she saw something else. It was deeper than happiness. It was like that time when he'd tended to her wounds. When he'd looked so hurt. Like he cared more than he could show. She saw that this emotion ran deeper than like and deeper than fear. It ran along the lines of trust. And love.

Warmth enveloped her and Ichigo beamed at Kish.

_On my knees, I'll ask  
Last chance for one last dance  
'Cause with you, I'd withstand  
All of Hell to hold your hand  
I'd give it all  
I'd give for us  
Give anything, but I won't give up  
'Cause you know, you know, you know_

Kish brought one hand up and ran it through her hair lovingly before dropping it back to her waist. Ichigo's cheeks warmed up amazingly fast. When she looked down modestly, she noticed that their lower bodies were just inches apart. She knew she shouldn't, but she also knew that that was what she wanted. She closed the gap and pressed her cheek to his chest. Unable to help herself, she started swaying in tune with the song. What could she do? It was a catchy song. And, it was perfect for a slow dance.

_I love you  
I've loved you all along  
I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

It surprised her when Kish's arms tightened around her, pulling her ever closer to him. He swayed with her and began moving his feet. The real way to slow dance.

Ichigo was startled, she hadn't known that Kish knew how to slow dance. Nonetheless, she responded by matching her paces to his and soon she fell in step. She felt warm inside and knew that there was nothing more she could ask for.

_So far away  
Been far away for far too long  
So far away  
Been far away for far too long  
But you know, you know, you know_

They continued swaying to the sweet love song. Ichigo felt that this was such a perfect moment. So peaceful, so bliss. She lifted her cheek and gazed up at Kish. It didn't surprise her that he was staring down at her with his pale cheeks tinged pink and a victoriously, shy smile on his face. A soft smile lit up her face. She noticed that his face was inching forward.

_I wanted  
I wanted you to stay  
'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I forgive you  
For being away for far too long  
So keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go_

By the time the song had ended, Ichigo and Kish's lips were just a hairsbreadth away from each other. Their eyes were closed in innocent desire and deep attraction.

_Whoosh._

Ichigo and Kish opened their eyes and stared at each other. They didn't pull away until someone cleared their throat. The two turned simultaneously and saw a smirking Shin.

Ichigo's feline ears and tail sprung out as she blushed madly. She glanced back at Kish. She pulled Kish to her using her arms (that were still around his neck) and hugged him. "Arigato," she whispered.

Kish stroked her cheek with his hand and pressed his lips to her forehead. As he was pulling away he whispered, "I'll always love you." He removed the earphone and pressed it into Ichigo's ear.

Kish walked swiftly past Shin.

Shin threw one last glance at Kish's blushing koneko before he turned and followed Kish.

_Whoosh._

The door glided shut and Ichigo stood where she was, trying to slow her heartbeat and get her brain to function again.

She knew now that things between her and Kish were okay. She also knew now what she felt for him. She knew that her love for him was real. It was not just some figment of her imagination.

She turned off her iPod and setting it on the table, sat down on the bed. She looked out the window and it didn't look so gloomy anymore. In fact, she saw the empty space as space to fill with love and room to improve. The darkness did not bother her.

Yet.

**End Chapter**

* * *

s**orry for the abundance of slow songs, but if you look at the title of the chapter, what else did you expect? **

**sorry for not including parts wiht the other girls, but they were all asleep, if you remember what time it was when ichigo looked at the clock.**

**anyways, review REVIEW, _REVIEW!_!!1 onegai??**

**THANKS FOR READING!!**

i hope you enjoyed reading it!

**i hope it was satisfactory.**

**_PLEASE REVIEW!!_**

**i need reviews!**

**i tried to make this chapter long, but there's only so much you can write. if you want nice long chapters like this one and chapter 10 then REVIEW!! that can make it happen. **

**gotta go.**

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

**-lil angel**


	15. Kaosu

**(_panic, Panic, PANIC) _omg! OMG! it's been sooooooooooooooo LONG!! i'm so sorry! i just recently got enough time to write! GOMEN!!! i feel so BAD!! ... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! i feel like... like... a deserter! i'm sorry! i'm back now! now that summer holidays have rolled around, i think ---HOPE---that i have more time to work on my stories! (_lower lip quivers as tears sprint down face) _/..\ please find in your pure hearts to forgive forgive this VERY sorry writer.**

**REVIEW REPLIES:::::::**

**Kishu's luva :** Will there be more chapters/a seqal? u rok! I  
**lil angel : **well... that depends on how hectic my schedule gets. if i think that i have enough time later when i finish off TGE (The Greater Evil) then i'll think of making a sequel.

**o ya, i think that i should warn you that ichigo has some... non-ichigo-like thoughts this chapter. it's a little... perverted. i'm sorry for any content that is offensive...**

**btw, ichigo's lust... well she _is_ a teenager! i'll try to exclude more than innocent moments between them in the future. TRY being the key word there. (_smirk)_**

**o... lots of... fluffy...positions in this chapter. Lots of FLUFF between kishXichigo...well lots...thats for u to decide.**

**o and... i didn't know kisshu's origins...so i made it up. i hope it makes sense and that you like it. **

**IMPORTANT:: KAOSU MEANS CHOAS!!!!**

* * *

**Chapter 15-Kaosu**

_Ragged breath appeared in little white clouds as __it escaped her parched mouth. She was running as fast as her legs would carry her and yet, after ten minutes of this, she still had not reached them. _

'If I'm right, Ichigo and Kish should be just ahead—'

_Her thought was cut short by her foot __running into something and her body lurching forward. She would have screamed had her lungs been up to it. Instead, she fell with a muffled gasp._

_Cold met her overheated face with such ferocity that her eyes flew open and she rolled onto her back. She was shocked by what she saw—a deep layer of snow. _'No wonder it was so much colder than last time…' _She stood up and continued running in the direction in which she had been going, this time wary of the thick snow she was stepping in. A broad wind blew in, along with fat flurries. _'Oh great, just what I need—a blizzard.'

_After what seemed like hours, she saw it. She found what she was looking for. A dark silhouette split apart in front of her. Joy erupted inside her. "Ichigo! Kish!"_

_The two turned to look at her. Ichigo smiled and Kish looked surprised. "Mew Retasu! What are you doing here?"_

"_I came to warn you! A jet is coming. It's coming to kill you. You have to move now! It'll be here any second." _

_Much to Mew Retasu's surprise, Ichigo smiled. "Iie, it's over. It's all over. We defeated them, even the second wave didn't succeed. It's all over now. There's no need to worry."_

_Mew Retasu was frantic, "Iie Ichigo, you're wrong, I saw it. I saw it all…" she trailed off when she noticed that Ichigo was no longer paying attention to her. Her mind seemed distant as she gazed at Kish. She raised her hand and ran her gloved fingers through his snow-filled green hair bringing her hand to a stop at his neck. The green-clad girl watched Ichigo pull Kish closer and press her lips to his. Her other hand buried itself in his mass of green hair, holding his head in place while his arms tightened around her waist. Both of their eyes were closed in bliss._

_Mew Retasu believed them and her racing heart slowed. She smiled as the two lovers broke apart for breath then went right back to each other's lips. Each time they repeated this, they would get closer and closer no matter how close they already were._

_Mew Retasu cleared her throat nervously and the two unglued themselves and blinked at her. _

_Sheepish g__rins split onto both their faces. Ichigo opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, her mirth faded. Kish's face was a similar mask of horror. The two turned back to each other and murmuring, "I love you," kissed each other passionately._

_Mew Retasu was puzzled. _'What's the hurry?' _Then, a jet flew in and exploded in front of her face. Right where Ichigo and Kish were standing. Surprisingly, Mew Retasu was not blown off her feet even though the explosion was only a few feet away. Her lime green eyes widened as she watched the explosion. _

_For a while, she stood there dumbfounded, unable to believe what had just happened. _'Iie… I warned them! I WARNED THEM!!' _"Combat Castanets!" and her weapons immediately appeared. She aimed them at the explosion and screamed, "Deep Sea Surge Attack! Tidal Wave Rush! Underwater Surge Attack!" Wave after wave of water shot out from her castanets and toward the fire._

_After many more attacks, the fire died down. Tears dripped off Mew Retasu's chin and into the rubble as she stumbled over it to where Ichigo and Kish had been standing. She bent down and frantically looked through the piles of rubble for any signs of Ichigo or Kish._

_Nothing._

_She must've been looking for hours and yet no sign of them. Something shiny caught the Mew's eye and she walked toward it. She picked it up and looked it over. Ichigo's sword. Bits of the sheath were still clinging to the long, sharp piece of metal. Mew Retasu desperately clawed through the piles of waste. _

_Finally she found something. Red; she dug deeper and uncovered a thin hand covered in a dirty red glove. It hung limply in Mew Retasu's grasp. She was horrified. She dropped Ichigo's hand and standing, backed away slowly. "Iie… Iie… IIE!!!" Mew Retasu turned to flee, but she tripped over something and fell. This wasn't happening. Ichigo wasn't dead. This was all just some horrible trick. _

_Tears trickled from Mew Retasu's eyes and when she looked down, she saw her Mew uniform disappear and change into a thick snowsuit. Retasu stood and her stomach felt woozy. She began staggering away from Ichigo and Kish's bodies when she fell to her knees and retched. Her jade hair fell into her face and stuck to her tear trails._

_Retasu choked on tears as she tried to keep down the growing dread. _'I have to get away,' _with that thought in mind, she tripped and stumbled away from the two bodies. When she was finally clear of the wreckage, she picked up a run, _'I can outrun this. If I'm away from here, then Ichigo will come back. She wouldn't leave us… ever.'_ She knew it was irrational, but it was the only coherent thought that had entered her mind since the explosion._

_Before long, the explosion site had disappeared into the distance and Retasu was lost. She was in an unfamiliar place and she didn't know how to get out. She ran until she could run no longer. Her feet were practically solid ice so she sat down. She brought her knees up to her face and burying her face in her knees, she wrapped her arms around her legs. Retasu rocked herself back and forth. The only thought that entered her mind was _'Iie…'

_Soon, the cold got to her and she stopped rocking. Her arms and legs were numb from cold and Retasu fell sideways. She lay there in the snow and felt her consciousness drain away. Eventually, her eyes drifted shut and her limbs fell limp._

"_Retasu… Retasu wake up…"_

_To Retasu, it sounded like Ichigo. Desperate to see her dear leader, the girl swam through layers of thick fog to make it to the surface. When she made it through, she struggled to open her eyes._

* * *

Worried, brown eyes peered down at her. Minto looked relieved to see her awake. "You were sleep-talking… about Ichigo and Kish dying…" 

Retasu looked past Minto to see Zakuro and Purin watching anxiously. She sat up and smiled nervously, "It was just a nightmare… nothing more… nothing to worry about."

Zakuro looked at the clock and said, "Girls, get ready, it's time to go to work." She walked toward the bathroom to wash up.

"Are you sure you're okay Retasu?" Purin asked.

Retasu nodded, just noticing the cold sweat that coated her body. She swept her fingers through her hair and smiled, "I'm fine." Retasu stood and got ready to shower.

Minto watched Retasu start her morning routine. She watched Retasu fumble with her clothes, her mind was somewhere else.

Minto had already gotten ready; she'd woken up almost two hours ago. She had a date with Masaya in the afternoon and she looked forward to it. Masaya had invited her to come with him to the museum then to go to the park and buy some ice cream. She had agreed to come after work which ended at 3:00p.m. Minto watched the others get ready while providing nervous chatter.

Together, the four girls went downstairs and ate. They all set off for the café and arrived just in time.

Ryou was just opening the gates and he was wearing a waiter's uniform. Apparently he hadn't been kidding when he'd said that he would help out. The events of the night of Ichigo's departure were still fresh in Ryou's mind for he said nothing but greeted them with a nod and a grim expression.

The girls followed Ryou into the café silently.

The day started and ended with a stiff silence between Ryou and the girls.

At 3p.m. when the doors were closing, Keiichiro finally came out of the back and he and Zakuro left. Purin and Minto left together, leaving Ryou and Retasu alone.

"Ryou…" started Retasu shyly.

Ryou turned to look at her but he did not say anything.

Retasu could tell that Ryou was sorry, but he was also angry and confused. He had told her about the past and how his parents had died. She could understand that he didn't want the same thing to happen to Ichigo. She could also tell that he did not know how to say that he was sorry. Retasu left her rag at the table and walked up to Ryou, her gaze never leaving his. She hugged him tightly, murmuring her forgiveness. "It's okay Ryou… I forgive you. I understand how you feel. You don't need to be angry anymore. Ichigo will not die. She loves him and he loves her. They will protect each other. She will come back. I know she will… You don't need to worry about her."

Ryou was shocked by her impulsive actions, but he appreciated them all the same. The day before yesterday, after his little outburst, he'd gone home and mentally beat himself for being such an idiot. Ichigo had come to say goodbye, to assure everyone that she'd be alright, but he'd wrecked it for them all. He'd been feeling down since then, and now that he knew that Retasu had forgiven him, his spirits lifted. He gratefully hugged her back, "Arigato Reta-chan." His arms tightened around her as he prayed that Ichigo would be alright.

The two ended their hug and went back to cleaning up. Afterwards, they would work on convincing the other Mews to forgive him. For now though, they worked together in silence, each lost in their own troubled thoughts.

* * *

After parting with Purin, Minto had run the rest of the way home. She had showered and put on a fancy, navy blue skirt and a matching, light blue top. She'd let her hair out and straightened it, so that it was longer and reached a little past her shoulders. 

Now, ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was Masaya.

Minto's grandmother called her down to the foyer and told them to have fun. Minto smiled and waved as she and Masaya walked out the door.

Masaya took her to the train station and together, they went to the museum. The girl noticed that Masaya seemed a little strained and quieter than usual. Normally, he would've made some side talk to lessen the tension, but today, he seemed tight-jawed and slightly impatient.

After they got off the train, Minto took him to the side for some privacy and asked him what was wrong.

His smile seemed to be forced when he said, "Nothing Minto-chan." His warm brown eyes were troubled, showing her that he was lying. He cringed in pain and turned his head, shutting his eyes.

Minto blinked, Masaya's dark hair seemed to get even darker and a shudder rippled through him. When he looked back, Minto gasped. He stood straighter and his brown irises were gone, in their place were pale, icy blue ones.

Masaya smirked. "Shall we?" he said gesturing toward the museum.

Minto's eyebrows furrowed, now, Masaya was definitely different. How had his eyes changed colours? How had his hair gotten darker? "Masaya… what happened?"

He seemed to be concentrating on something, but he was still more relaxed than before the shudder. "Nothing, nothing at all, but I think that the museum's kind of crowded right now, shall we go to the park first?" he held out his hand for her to take.

Minto was watching his ice blue eyes and she didn't trust them. They seemed to be keeping a secret and mocking her for not knowing. She wanted to know what was happening to him so she agreed to go to the park, thinking that he'd tell her what was happening.

Minto took his hand and the two walked toward the park. They chose a deserted area at the park and stood together. He did not let go of her hand.

The girl turned to face the boy. Minto brought her hand up to Masaya's face. As soon as her fingers made contact, she saw his delicate concentration break.

A sapphire glow encased Masaya, when it faded, he was significantly different. His skin was so pale that it was almost white and his ears were pointed like Kish's. His ebony hair extended past his knees to his feet. His clothing was also different, from jeans and a baggy, green shirt to a long, dark blue cloak that went to his feet and dark blue shorts underneath that.

"Masaya?"

"Wrong, Masaya is gone; I finally have full control over this body. My name is Deep Blue and you my dear are Mew Minto. Am I correct?" Deep Blue tightened his grip on Minto's hand so much that it was painful.

Minto was scared. What had happened to Masaya? How did he know that she was Mew Minto? "What did you do to Masaya?"

Deep Blue smirked, "You will never see him again. He is gone."

Tears came amazingly quickly to Minto's eyes. She fidgeted and tried to twist out of his grasp. "Tomare… you're hurting me."

Deep Blue's smirk widened, with his free hand, he ran his fingers through her cerulean hair. His hand fisted around her hair at the nape of her neck and he brought her face closer to his. "Tell me where Ichigo is or I'll kill you."

"Iie, you're lying. Masaya is still in there and I will free him," Minto said determinedly. She locked her free arm around his neck and pulled herself to him, ignoring the pain of him pulling her hair. Minto pressed her lips to his. She tried to resist the natural instinct to close her eyes but she couldn't; it was too strong.

Minto felt his grip on her hand soften and felt his lips move under hers. He was kissing her back! _'Masaya!' _Minto was afraid to end the kiss and open her eyes for fear that it would be frigid blue eyes looking back at her instead of soft brown.

She ran out of breath and had no choice but to pull her lips away. Her eyes opened hesitantly and gentle brown pools of light gazed back at her. Minto's face split into a smile, "Masaya!"

The said smiled a sad smile, "This is the last time I will ever see you Minto. I'm sorry; I couldn't stop him… he won. But I want you to know that I love you, that kiss gave me the strength to—" Brown orbs widened in shock and morphed into pale blue. A sinister smirk replaced his sincere smile. Deep Blue's hand tightened around the unfortunate Mew's hand again. "I guess there was still some of him left, well he's gone for sure now," he drawled.

Minto's eyes widened in shock, "Iie…" her hand dropped from the back of his neck.

"And don't even _think_ of kissing me again you filthy human," Deep Blue grasped the front of Minto's t-shirt and lifted her so that her face was level with his. "Where is Ichigo?"

Minto squirmed uncomfortably. She ignored his question and asked him one of her own. "Why are you doing this?"

Deep Blue's eyes narrowed, "I ask the questions around here. Where is Ichigo?"

Minto pouted stubbornly, "You won't get the answer out of me."

Minto didn't know how, but Deep Blue's hand was no longer clenched around the cloth of her t-shirt, it was around her neck. He moved his face so that it was right in front of hers, "I will not hesitate to kill you," and his hand tightened enough to make it hard for her to breathe.

Minto struggled, but it was useless, she could not escape his grip. When his hand tightened even more, she gasped. She couldn't breathe. _'Is this how I'm going to die? Because I'm protecting Ichigo? Masaya…' _She felt the blood rushing to her head and began to see spots. With all her breath, she said, "Okay!" his hand loosened enough to let air trickle through to her lungs. "She left…"

"Where?"

Minto panted and Deep Blue loosened his hand to allow more air to pass through so that she could talk. "With Kish… and Shin…" Something in his death glare was making her tell him every single detail.

"_Where_?"

"…to Kish's home planet."

"Shin as well? Are you sure?"

"Hai."

Deep Blue growled, "That stupid traitor!" Deep Blue's grip tightened on her neck as he clenched his teeth. Minto was suddenly very aware of his unnaturally pointy teeth.

Minto clawed desperately at his hand and was surprised when he let go. The Mew fell into a heap on the ground. She clutched her throat and gasped, gulping the air greedily. When she was finally satiated with the amount of air she had in her system, Deep Blue was gone.

Minto stood shakily; she knew there'd be bruises on her neck and she wanted to get back to Café Mew Mew before people started to notice. She hoped that Ryou or Keiichiro were still there; to allow someone as destructive as Deep Blue run loose in Tokyo would bring nothing but chaos.

* * *

This was her second evening on the ship and she loved exploring it. It had so many amazing gadgets that she _loved_ to fiddle with. At the moment, she was in her temporary room listening to songs. Shin had allowed her to upload the music onto the ship's motherboard and now the songs were playing on the loudspeaker, echoing throughout the ship so that she could hear it wherever she went. At the moment, "_Everytime we Touch_" by Cascada was playing and Ichigo lay on her side, stared out the window into space, listening to the song and singing along. 

"'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling—"

_Whoosh._

Ichigo turned and saw Shin looking at her with a curious expression on his face. "Hey Shin, what can I do for you?"

"Ichigo, Kish has… requested to see you in his room… alone." A mischeivous twinkle entered Shin's eyes.

"Shin, you are _such_ a perv!" Ichigo screeched, giggling. Ichigo got up and strutted past Shin to Kish's room.

When she got within range, the censors picked up her movement and the door _whooshed _open. Ichigo strolled into the room.

_Whoosh._

The door closed behind her before she noticed that the room was empty. "Kisshu? Where are you?" Ichigo went and sat on the bed, while pouting. She knew that Kish was playing with her. She made a motion to cross her arms and look huffy, before she could though, hands clamped over her mouth and around her stomach, dragging her backwards, into something warm. Her eyes grew round and her heart pounded. Her shriek was muffled by the hand that gripped it. When she finally calmed down she pried his hand off her mouth and said, "Don't _ever_ do that again. You scared me."

"Do what?" a playful voice questioned innocently.

Ichigo pouted, _'Why's he always the one who scares me? I wanna to something to freak him out too!' _Ichigo got an idea and reached up. She found Kish's elongated ear and ran her finger lightly along his skin. Ichigo felt a ripple travel through him and it made her proud to know that she had caused it.

"My little kitten is feisty today," Kish made up a scheme to tease his precious koneko and went right to it. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I kinda like it…" he ran his tongue along the egde of her ear, "in fact, I like it a lot." Kish savoured Ichigo's reaction. She shivered voilently, arched her back and threw her head back. Kish kept his arms firm around her so that she could not escape him.

"Kisshu…"

He knew that she was going to tell him to stop, but until he thought he was done, he wasn't going to stop. Kish's lips brushed her ear and trailed down along it to her neck. He nuzzled her, relishing the feel of her melting against him and responding to what he was doing. He pressed his lips softly to her neck, slowly inching down her collarbone. He felt her grab the hand that was around her waist, she was enjoying this.

Ichigo couldn't stand it anymore, it felt good to have him all over her and she wanted it. She wasn't going to deny it anymore, she wanted Kish to go on. She wanted to feel his soft lips pressed to her and the only way to get what her body desired was to allow Kish to continue. _'How'd he get so good?' _Ichigo's eyes closed and her head pressed back into his shoulder. Ichigo's hand buried itself into Kish's soft mass of green hair.

Kish slowed his lips to tease her and increase her pleasure. It worked, Ichigo moaned and her hand clamped around a handful of his hair. Kish heard footsteps and hastily untangled himself from Ichigo.

As soon as Ichigo was free of Kish, her lust evaporated and her cheeks ignited when she thought about how she'd reacted and the impure thoughts that had run through her mind.

_Whoosh._

Shin walked in the door to find a flushed, panting and embarrassed Ichigo. Kish on the other hand was smirking with only a faint trace of colour in his cheeks.

"We will be going through the black hole in five minutes, come strap yourselves in."

"Wait Shin-san… how can you—"

"I'll explain everything once you two are strapped into the seat."

"Seat?"

Shin and Kish smirked. "There are only two seats," Kish explained, "one belongs to Shin, we get the other one."

Ichigo blushed and protested, "That not's fair—"

"Would you rather share with me?" Shin asked, "I wouldn't mind…"

Ichigo reddened further and pouted, but she followed when the males got up and went to the control room. Shin strapped himself in. Ichigo gulped when she saw what type of seatbelt it was. It was the type that was on a child's car seat. She looked back to see Kish grinning ear to ear. "Why are both of you total perverts?"

The two shrugged. Kish sat down and spread his legs apart so that Ichigo could sit between them. He grinned at her hesitation. Ichigo pouted and stuck out her tongue before seating herself with as much grace and pride as she could muster between Kish's legs. She noticed that she was sitting on the belt, so she scooted back so that the belt was mostly out from under her, she was resting against Kish.

Kish snaked his arms around Ichigo's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Do you want to get the belt or would you rather have me do it?"

Ichigo almost told him to do it because it would be easier and save her a lot of trouble, but at the last minute her common sense came through. Ichigo tried to yank the rest of the belt out from under her, but it wouldn't budge. Ichigo blushed when she realized that she would have to move further back to free the seatbelt.

Clutching the seatbelt, she pushed herself against Kish and pulled at the seatbelt. It finally came free. She stretched it and tried to bend her hand back far enough to stuff the belt into the buckle.

After seeing Ichigo struggle, Kish finally decided to help her out. He pushed the belts into the buckles and returned to his earlier position.

Ichigo shivered, this time because she was cold. The ship was cold. She pressed her cheek to Kish's warm one and wedged her arms underneath his.

Kish felt Ichigo shiver and did his best to warm her up. It felt good to be this close to her.

"So anyways," Ichigo began, "how can you go through a black hole? Black holes are so powerful that they distort everything, even light. It's literally impossible for humans to pass through, for many reasons, including the fact that they're way too far away."

"Well actually, this is not really a black hole, it is a portal. It doesn't have any gravitational properties at all," Shin answered.

"Portal? Who created it?"

"That's a long story," Shin said wearily, as if he'd already repeated the story far too many times.

"Kish? Will you tell me?" Ichigo asked.

"Okay, it all starts with The Legendary Goddess."

"What was her name?"

"Kaosu."

"That's an odd name… I wonder why her parents named her that."

"She started out as a normal person, but there was a prophesy that she would bring much confusion to the land and its people. She would be our saviour and our killer at the same time. She would be as perfect as a god yet as foul as a devil. She would bring chaos to the people and the only ones who would be able to stop her were the ones closest to her. Therefore her parents named her Kaosu. Anyways, Kaosu grew up loved by all. She showed no sign of malevolence and soon the prophesy was forgotten.

"One day, Kaosu disappeared. At first, people assumed she'd just wandered off somewhere, but three days later, she still wasn't back. Her parents, friends, neighbours and everyone else she knew went out to look for her. They found no trace of her. People mourned, but their lives went on."

"That's so awful…" Ichigo mumbled.

"They had no choice. When someone dies, do you mourn over them for the rest of your life?"

"Iie…" Ichigo noticed that Kish's voice was a little strained and she knew that he must be thinking of Taruto and Pai. She wanted to turn around and comfort him, but restrained by the tight seatbelt, she knew she couldn't. Ichigo leaned her head back onto his shoulder and tried to comfort Kish as best she could. Ichigo squeezed Kish's hand, "Gomen…"

"Don't be… it was our mission to try to kill you…" Kish's arms tightened around her.

"I'm glad you didn't…"

"Me too… anyways, back to the story. A year later, on the exact same day that Kaosu disappeared, a hu—"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we are about to pass through the portal, it will take a while, but by the time that the story is finished, we'll be through the portal and you'll be able to leave your seats. Ignore the rocking of the ship," Shin informed the two.

"A human appeared. Nobody knew what to do, they'd heard of humans, but they'd never actually seen or known any. Humans were known for bringing about destruction. This human was a female and when she walked into our village, people should've been scared, but they weren't. She was beautiful, they were all transfixed by her beauty.

"The problem was that my people did everything the human said and she had an evil heart. My people were doomed from the start. Eventually, the girl owned practically everything and the people served her. the only ones that were immune to her charm were Kaosu's parents and friends. They figured out that the girl cast spells on the people with her eyes. Once they felt the wrath of her eyes, they were under her command until she let them go.

"One day, news got around that the girl had fallen in love with a cyniclon boy. She told the boy that her name was Kaosu and the boy was never seen again. The next day, a human boy walked into the town and joined Kaosu. The boy became her lover.

"Day after day more cyniclons were believed to have been killed and more humans showed up. Soon the only cyniclons that were left were Kaosu's parents and friends.

"Her parents remembered the old prophesy and the two went to Kaosu's palace. They tried to reason with the humans, they tried everything but nothing worked. Kaosu tried to use her eyes to control them, but she couldn't. Out of fear, she ordered that the two be slaughtered. She did not remember them.

"Right before the two were beheaded, they uttered four words, "We love you Kaosu." Kaosu finally remembered and she stopped everything.

"The town gathered around Kaosu and she changed them back into cyniclons. She fought the evil human spirit that had taken over her body and won, she changed back into a cyniclon and she told everyone what had happened. How the evil human spirit had attacked her and taken over and how every time some species was changed into a human, a hole would form in space. No one knew why, not even Kaosu, but it was later discovered that these "holes" were really portals."

"What happened next? Did everyone forgive and forget?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Kaosu became highly revered, because she brought peace and love.

"One day, a couple years later, her parents walked into her room to find her on the floor clutching her head. She warned them about the human spirit trying to take over and how she would lose. She told her parents to gather up as many people as they could and take them away. To another planet. They did as they were told and took away as many of the townsfolk as they could. The last they saw of their daughter was a beautiful human girl with bewitching eyes.

"The only planet that the people could find was a small planet that was very old. It was still fertile enough to inhabit, but they all knew that its lifespan was nearing its end. In a couple hundred years, the planet would become too barren to live on. This planet provided life but also an inevitable doom. This fact compelled the people to call the planet "Kaosu" after their daughter whom they loved dearly but drove them off their own planet. In a couple hundred years, the planet would die and the people would need to explore space to find another planet to live on.

"We were given this mission to try to reclaim Earth because of the fact that it was the most promising option. Kaosu will die soon. The estimated number of safe years left on Kaosu is 5 years; anything over that amount is a risk everyday. We must find someplace to live; otherwise my people will all die." Kish finished off the story and gazed at Ichigo through the corner of his eye, she had a horrified expression on her face.

"Oh my God… Kisshu-kun… why didn't you say so in the first place… we would've let you stay…"

"That was the original plan…"

"But…?"

Kish's face darkened, "Deep Blue ordered us to exterminate all the humans and reclaim the planet."

"…"

"We had many opportunities… but we faltered. We were not murderers like Deep Blue. We couldn't do it. Deep Blue was angry. He killed or injured the soldiers who wouldn't kill the humans. It was only a matter of time before he came after me. I could already see him eying me with distaste when I reported back to him. He was just waiting for me to mess up so he could kill me without raising suspicion."

"Kisshu…" Ichigo turned her head to look into Kish's eyes and comfort him, but his dark bangs obscured his eyes from her view. She made up her mind and pressed her lips shyly to his cheek. When she pulled away, his eyes had widened in surprise. Ichigo tried to smile comfortingly, "I will help you Kisshu-kun. I will do all I can to help your people."

Kish's head dipped so that his bangs fell to once again mask his eyes. He smiled a sad smile and murmured, "Arigato Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled for real now, "I think that's the first time you actually called me by my name."

"I thought I'd try something new." Kish looked at her and smiled, the glum mood the story had created disappeared. On his flawless face appeared the playful grin/perverted smirk that Ichigo had come to know so well. "You know Ichigo… I really liked that kiss. I would appreciate it much more if it were on my lips."

Ichigo smiled, _'I would too.' _"Keep dreaming Kisshu-kun, keep dreaming."

"Of you?"

Colour painted Ichigo's face, but she smirked, "Yup, me and _only _me."

Kish's arms tightened around her and he pressed his cheek to hers, "Don't worry my precious koneko-chan, you won't leave my mind for a _second_." Kish smirked and thrust his lips against her cheek. He felt a shiver travel through her body and he snickered.

Ichigo flushed, "Stop laughing at me!" she demanded, "What's so funny?"

Kish gazed at her appreciatively, "You really like it when I call you Ichigo don't you?"

"Huh?"

"I felt you shiver."

Ichigo's hands shot to her face. She covered her face and cried, "Iie! I forgot that I'm sitting right up against you! Oh my God! This is _so_ embarrassing!"

"Aww, don't worry My Little Strawberry, I won't tell anyone…" Kish grinned unconvincingly.

Ichigo leaned back against him in defeat, "I can't win, can I?"

"Nope."

Ichigo sighed and looked up. She saw Shin standing and watching them with an amused expression on his face. Her face coloured once again. After a minute, the information finally sunk in, he was _standing_. "Hey!" She reached back for the belt buckle, but of course, she still couldn't reach it. "Help!" she looked hopefully at Shin.

Shin stayed where he was and a slow grin spread over his face. "That wouldn't be fair to Kish."

"Kisshu…" Ichigo began, planning to blackmail him into opening the buckle. Just before she spoke though, she changed her mind and decided to try a new tack, "onegai?"

Kish chuckled, "There are terms…"

Ichigo gulped, "Go on…"

"You have to spend the rest of the trip in my room."

Ichigo blushed madly while Shin struggled to stifle a laugh. Finally, being able to come up with no other options, she agreed.

Kish reached back and opened up the buckle. He waited until Ichigo got up before getting up himself. He smirked and asked, "Hey Shin, how much longer until we get to Kaosu?"

"Um… I would say 10-20 hours," Shin answered before turning to study the controls.

Kish nodded and grinned. He grabbed Ichigo around the waist and dragged her into his room.

_Whoosh._

Ichigo sat down in front of Kish; the playful expression on his face had been replaced by a serious one. Kish stared at Ichigo without speaking. Ichigo blushed and looked down, "Nani?"

"I just can't believe that you're here. I can't believe that I'm putting you in danger by making you come here. I'm so sorry."

Ichigo stared in disbelief, "No Kisshu, that's not it at all! _I_ made you let me come! _I_ wanted to come!" Ichigo inched closer and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Ichigo I want you to know that Kaosu is not at all like Earth, it is colder, harsher and the people will be… hostile toward you because of the fact that you are human. My planet is being attacked right now, you will have to fight and you won't ever be as safe as you are at home on Earth. I just wanted to tell you in advance that I will do all I can to protect you, even if that means dying in your place, as long as you are alive, that's all that matters."

"Kisshu… I know that Kaosu will be different. I know that the people will be… meaner to me than people on Earth. I know that I will have to fight and I'm aware that I won't be as safe as I was on Earth," Ichigo placed her hand on Kish's cheek, "and most of all, I know that you will put your life on the line for me. But Kisshu, I will fight, I will _not_ let you worry and I'll have your back. I wouldn't let you die in my place. Don't worry, you won't die, I won't _allow_ you to die and leave me alone." Ichigo hugged Kisshu reassuringly.

Kish was surprised to say the least, but he closed his eyes contentedly and smiled.

Locked in that embrace, the same thoughts were running through both their minds. _'We'll be there soon. I won't let anyone die anymore; especially not the people on this ship. I will stop the attack and save the people of Kaosu.'_

Along with the vows, they both knew what kind of danger they were facing.

They were facing new and terrifying enemies…

They were facing the probability of death…

Facing Kaosu…

Facing Chaos.

**End Chapter**

* * *

**Whew! finally! well?**

**i know the portal thing was lame... but i didn't want to have to spend too long thinking of a way to think of a far-fetched way to explain that.**

**now, i need some feedback.**

**what did you think?**

**how was it?**

**what are some things that you want to happen? (_i might not get to include all, just some ideas to make the story better--please don't hate me if i don't use your ideas, but thanks for your ideas_ :D)**

**how is the story progressing?**

**do you think that making Shin perverted was the right way to go?**

**what do you think we should do with Deep Blue? (_that's right! WE! we are a team! i write what you want to read!)_**

**how did you like Kaosu's story?**

**thank you for providing your VERY valuable opinions. XD**

**THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are really appreciated!**

**anyway, i hope you enjoyed the first chapter in DECADES!!! **

**this was an extra LONG chapter just for YOU!**

**please review everyone. it will encourage me up update more often, that sounds SO fake, but it's really true! i swear it is! (_STOP LAUGHING AT ME! IT'S TRUE!! TRUE! TRUE!_ TRUE**

**i gotta go now. :'(**

**xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox**

**BYE!!!!!!!!!**

**-lil angel**


	16. Wind

**hey guys :) i know it took long, but it will TOTALLY be worth it. XD -i promise**

**it took me a LONG time to write this--this is the LLONGEST chapter ever. (_over 6000 words_)**

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!**

**_ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

* * *

**Chapter 16-Wind**

"And then, he let go of me and when I looked up, he was gone," Minto finished. She was sitting in an unoccupied bedroom at Café Mew Mew meagrely furnished with a bed, chairs, a dresser and a round rug. Retasu and Ryou stared at her in disbelief.

"So you're saying that this Deep Blue that we've heard so much about is really Masaya Aoyama? The leader of the cyniclons?" Ryou asked incredulously.

Minto nodded meekly.

Retasu gulped, "What're we going to do? Ichigo is gone and it's only the four of us left. She was the strongest. How are we going to beat him without her?" Retasu fiddled with her hair nervously.

Minto looked down, she was right. Ichigo was the leader because she was the strongest. "Maybe…" thinking better of her statement, Minto shut her mouth.

Ryou glanced between the two troubled girls, his gaze rested on Minto, "Maybe what?"

"Nothing."

Now Retasu was gazing at Minto as well, "Spill it."

Minto sighed, "Maybe there's a way to contact Ichigo. Maybe we can—"

"Iie, there's no way and besides, even if there was, she wouldn't come back now. There're probably already on the aliens' planet. We've got to find another way," Ryou interrupted.

"Well, we don't know for sure if we can't beat Deep Blue, we could try…" Retasu peeked around the room; both Minto and Ryou were silent.

"We don't know what will happen to you. Your injuries from the battle with Kish are not even fully healed yet. Who knows what Deep Blue will do to you? What if he kills you?" Ryou stood and began pacing.

Minto's eyes followed him; her anger for him had evaporated the instant she'd stepped into the café. She needed his help and she couldn't deny that. He and Keiichiro were the only ones who could help them defeat Deep Blue. So, she had had no choice but to forgive him. "Perhaps we should call Zakuro and Purin. Maybe they have some ideas…?"

Ryou nodded and headed to the phone.

Retasu looked at Minto. Her hair was out and it had been straightened. It fell a little past her shoulders. Her clothing was simple—a blue skirt and a matching blue shirt—but very pretty. Her shirt had a pool of wrinkles around the neck area. Retasu guessed that Deep Blue had held her up by her t-shirt. Minto's neck looked awful; it was a bluish-black disaster. He had obviously tried to suffocate her. A sudden thought came to Retasu, "Hey Minto, why didn't you morph into Mew Minto and fight off Deep Blue?"

Minto stared at her hands, "I thought of that… but I didn't want to hurt Masaya… I know that Deep Blue said that Masaya was gone forever… but I guess that I didn't want to believe that so… I couldn't do it… I couldn't attack him."

"But what if we do actually have a battle… I mean all four of us versus him? Will you be able to fight then? I mean, we need all the help we can get. We already are missing our leader; we can't afford to fight without you too."

"…"

"Minto, do you think that you can get over Masaya? I mean him turning into Deep Blue and attacking you _has_ ended your relationship… right?"

"…I don't know. I mean if Masaya _is_ still alive in there… now would be the time he needs me most wouldn't it?"

"But Minto, try to understand that we can't take that chance. We need to fight him and get rid of him before he can kill anyone. Minto, I'm not trying to make it hard on you, but we need you to fight with us. We need all the help we can get and that includes you."

Minto opened her mouth to say something, but Ryou interrupted her.

"They're on their way. They'll be here in ten minutes." He leaned against the wall and trained his eyes on Minto. "How's your neck?" he asked softly.

For the first time since Deep Blue had left her alone, Minto started crying. She felt a sudden emptiness in her heart. She had been betrayed and this is what it felt like. She felt her heart break; she had really liked Masaya. Her aching neck was only a reminder of his horrible departure. She choked on her tears and coughed. Her neck pulsed with pain and she gasped which was a bad idea. The fresh air that flew at her throat upset her bruised neck. Finally, after some slow, deep breaths, she calmed down, but tears still escaped her eyes. "It hurts…"

Retasu knew that Minto was not only talking about her neck from the expression on her face. Minto hurt inside, Masaya had left her, he may not have wanted to, but he did. Retasu went to sit next to Minto; she placed her arms around Minto and allowed her to cry her heart out on her shoulder. Retasu shushed her softly, "It's okay. We're here now."

Ryou glanced uneasily at the crying Minto. Retasu looked at him and he forced a smile which she returned shyly. He averted his gaze and stared at the ground.

Minto heard the door open and three more people step into the room and she lifted her face. Seeing that Zakuro, Keiichiro and Purin had arrived, Minto wiped away her tears.

Zakuro, Purin and Keiichiro didn't miss the large, ugly bruise colouring Minto's neck. "Minto!" Zakuro cried. "What happened?"

Purin carefully went to Minto's side and sat down. She leaned her crutches against the bed. Zakuro seated herself in a chair next to Keiichiro while Ryou told the newcomers the condensed version of Minto's experience.

"So… Masaya was really Deep Blue?" Zakuro asked.

Ryou nodded solemnly.

"What're we going to do? We're all still injured from the battle with Kish. We can't fight… I can't even walk without the help of those crutches," Purin said.

Zakuro nodded, "She's got a point. My wounds are almost healed, I'm pretty sure that Minto's and Retasu's are pretty much healed as well, but Purin's leg… our wounds will still slow us down. We don't stand a chance, especially now that Ichigo is gone too."

"If only there were a way to heal you four faster, we could take him down faster," Ryou said. He glanced at Keiichiro who had been quiet ever since he had arrived. "Keiichiro… what are you thinking about?"

"Well… I was doing some research… and well I read this article that said that people heal twenty-five percent faster if they have company. Something about psychology and stress hormones… well I don't think that's enough though…"

Everyone in the room sensed that there was more, so they waited.

"I also read something about subliminal messages. They are words or messages communicated at a level below the conscious mind's ability to perceive. Allegedly, messages can enter directly into the subconscious mind, thus by-passing the rational/logical center of the individual's brain. So, I think that if Ryou and I were to create something that sent subliminal messages, that maybe your brain will think that… a lot of time has passed and maybe your bodies will… heal faster because of the believed passing of time…something like that…" he swept his gaze around the room, "the problem with that is that I don't know if your bodies will indeed heal faster. It might only succeed in making you think that a lot of time has passed.

"Another possibility is hypnotism. We can hypnotize you into thinking that you're healed so that you can use your body to its full potential. The only issue with that is that you may overdo it and reopen your wounds. We don't want that happening. Especially Purin, she may put too much pressure on her leg and worsen its condition. Just because you think you can do it, doesn't mean that your body can handle it.

"The subliminal messages and hypnotism are basically the same thing… we are trying to convince your mind beyond logical thought that you're not injured. The same problem arises with both. You might put too much stress on your bodies and they might break down. We can't allow that to happen."

"So… there's no way?" Purin asked quietly.

"Other than the give each other company thing… no."

The silence in the room was deafening, there was no way; no way at all to speed up their healing process. Unless they wanted to take the chances that came with the possibilities that Keiichiro had mentioned.

"Hey!" everyone turned to Retasu, "Ryou, Keiichiro, remember Masha's message? It said that Ichigo would heal by the end of the day! No matter what happened, there's no way that it would be able to heal by the end of the day. Even a little scrape will take a couple days."

Ryou and Keiichiro nodded, they remembered what she was talking about. "Hai, I remember," Keiichiro said, "the only problem with that is that we don't know what they used to make her heal that fast…"

"Well, I remember from some of our research, that the aliens' medicine will heal humans much faster than our own medicine," Ryou stated, deep in thought. "Now only if we knew where to get some of their medicine, then you four could heal and we'll be set to wipe out Deep Blue."

"What about me? My wound is not a cut or anything. It's on the inside. My bone is broken…" Purin asked.

"Well, I'm sure that the aliens with their advanced technology thought of that and have medicine for that too," Ryou answered.

"Wait a second!" Retasu cried, "We know where the aliens' old headquarters are right? Then why don't we go and search there to see if we can find anything?"

Ryou and Keiichiro looked doubtful.

Zakuro saw this and nodded, "I think it's a good idea. What do we have to lose? Purin will stay here with Keiichiro and me, Ryou, Retasu, and Minto will go to search their old headquarters." Zakuro stood up and looked around confidently. She impatiently waited for everyone else to stand up as well.

Minto looked around the room tearfully and stood, "I agree with Zakuro," she set her chin stubbornly.

Retasu nodded and stood. She gave Ryou a look and agreeing, he stood.

Ryou looked at Keiichiro before following the girls out of the room. He trailed behind the girls as they led him to the cyniclons' old HQ.

Twenty minutes later, the four had entered the headquarters and were searching through it thoroughly. They worked quietly and efficiently, even so, two hours later, they had had no success. They were sure that they'd searched the entire area, but they hadn't found a thing.

"Maybe they didn't bring any medical supplies," Minto said, sliding down to the floor, discouraged. She ran her fingers along the surface of the tiles. Everything was smooth.

"I think they did," Ryou argued, "it's probably hidden somewhere."

"But we already searched everywhere," Zakuro said, disappointed.

Minto stayed silent, she had found a ridge in the perfectly flat floor. Her fingers had followed the ridge and discovered that it formed a perfect square. There were also four soft areas outside the corners of the square that appeared to be some sort of buttons. "Hey, I think I found something." Minto crouched over the square and pushed it. She tried to use the nails at the edges of the square to pry it out. That was unsuccessful, so she tried to press down on two of the soft spots. Two of the corners rose high enough to expose handles at which one could haul the block out of the ground. "Someone help me here!"

Zakuro, being the closest, placed her thumbs on the other two soft areas and pushed downwards. The other two sides of the block popped up.

Ryou hurried over and grabbed two of the handholds. He waited for Retasu to grab the other two before attempting to draw the block out of the hollow. The slab of rock was lighter than the two expected and they easily removed it. Setting the block down at the side, the two crowded around to see what was in the hole.

It looked like the hunk of rock had been resting on thin metal dowels that protruded from the four sides of the hole. When the buttons were pressed, the rods would rise, forcing the block to rise as well. Underneath it all was a black bag. Pulling it out and opening it, the four found bottles and tubes that looked official, but were labeled with messy handwriting stating the purpose instead of the names.

Ryou picked one up and read the untidy writing, _'for outer wounds' _he picked up another one and read it too, _'for sickness.' _Rummaging through the bag, he found one labeled, _'for bone injuries.' _"Girls, I think I just found what we were looking for." He put the tubes back into the bag and stood. Before lifting the bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he put the block back into place _'Just in case Deep Blue decides to pay a visit.'_ "Let's get out of here and get you all healed up." He turned and began walking toward the entrance.

Zakuro stood and helped the younger girls up before starting after Ryou.

Outside, Retasu fell in step with Zakuro. Ryou had turned at the corner and was out of sight, "Zakuro, are you still mad at him?"

Zakuro looked straight ahead, "Iie, I forgive him."

Retasu smiled and murmured a thank you from Ryou. Then she scuttled forward to catch up to Ryou. As she rounded the corner, a gentle gust of wind carried his scent to her and she remembered all the sweet things that he'd done for her and the girls. He was so charming; he just didn't like to show it that much. She caught up to him and held his hand, "They both forgive you." Smiling up at him, she felt a rush of affection for the boy.

When they got back to the café, Keiichiro and Ryou tended to the girls' wounds and the girls each rested in their own rooms with the promise of being healed when they awoke, helping them drift into sleep. They knew they needed as much rest as they could get, soon, they would have to fight Deep Blue and losing was not an option.

* * *

Ichigo had exited Kish's room fifteen minutes ago and she had immediately started exploring the ship again. She had found something that looked like a grenade. She only knew that it wasn't a grenade because she had picked it out of a box labeled "smoke" and there was a separate box named "grenades." It was a round shell with a rough surface. There was a thin spout on top of it with a bright red button on top which stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark green of the rest of the device. On the side of the device was an area that was made for digital numerals. 

Ichigo glanced around and seeing that no one was around, she pressed the red button on the device. Nothing happened. Ichigo turned the gadget around in her hands and saw numbers counting down on the small digital screen. Idiotically, Ichigo stared at the digits, at '00,' the numbers flashed a couple times before the bomb exploded in her hand and a heavy cloud of smoke filled the room.

"AIIIIIIIIII!" Ichigo screamed in surprise before being reduced to coughs. Remembering a fire safety presentation, she instantly dropped to the floor.

Kish heard a feminine scream and he raced toward the sound. The door opened and Kish was shocked to see the heavy smoke that permeated the chamber. "Ichigo!" Kish dropped to his hands and knees and saw Ichigo's back facing him, lying on the floor. Panic seized him and he crawled toward her. When he got closer, he noticed her shoulders shaking and he heard her coughs. Reaching her, he grabbed her and carefully carried her back to the entrance of the room. Exiting the room, he locked the door so that no one would accidentally go into the room and allow the smoke to spread throughout the ship.

With Ichigo in his arms, he took her back to his room. He seated her on his lap and waited until her coughs subsided. He surveyed her and was relieved to see that she was all in one piece. She was covered in smoke, head to toe and there were tears rolling down her smoke-covered cheeks. Kish reveled in the stupidity of her error and despite his worry, he felt himself getting mad at how she'd so foolishly endangered herself. "What were you thinking?" he demanded angrily.

Ichigo looked up at Kish, his anger and worry only made her cry more. She was from Earth, she should know about bombs and how they work. She felt ashamed for making such a stupid mistake. In that split second when the numbers '00' were flashing on the little screen, horror set in and Ichigo really thought that she was going to die. When all that came out was a ton of smoke and when she felt Kish pick her up with his strong reassuring arms, she cried tears of relief. Ichigo rubbed at her face in an attempt to clean away some of the smoke, she sobbed now, thinking that if the bombs had been mixed by accident, she could've set off a grenade and blew a hole in the ship. Then everyone on the ship would've died. Tears only came faster; there was no way that she could console herself.

Kish immediately regretted snapping at the crying girl. She had obviously made a mistake, she hadn't intended for that to happen. Looking around for some water, Kish spotted a glass of water near him, he dipped his fingers in the water and wiped at Ichigo's face. He repeated this until her face was mostly clean. Drying his fingers on his clothing, he tilted her head so that she was looking at him. He forced a smile, "It's okay. You're alright now."

Ichigo saw how afraid he had been for her and she could feel herself breaking down again.

"…" Kish held Ichigo closer to himself and rocked back and forth, making soft shushing sounds. What else could he do? She was okay and that was all that mattered.

"Gomen Kisshu-kun… and arigato," Ichigo murmured.

Kish squeezed Ichigo a little tighter, "Promise me never to scare me like that again."

'_He _was _scared. Scared for me… it's not wonder that I love him…' _"I promise." She buried her face into his shirt and breathed in deeply. This was the scent of safety and security. She smiled to herself.

Kish kissed the top of her head before pulling her away from him. He grinned at her and teased, "Stop it; you're making my clothes dirty too."

Ichigo smiled at Kish, "Too bad." She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

The boy carefully stood up and pried her off of him. He held her at arms length and smirked, "You're really starting to like me aren't you?"

Ichigo blushed then realized what he was trying to do. He was trying to make her forget her mistake. She grinned back and decided to let the comment go. "Is there a shower on this thing?"

Kish nodded and letting go of her, led her to it. "There's a towel and soap and whatever else you need in there."

"Hey my clothes are dirty, do you think that I could get some new ones from my suitcase?"

"Nope, there are two doors to the luggage compartment. One is outside and the other is in the Armory, which is the place you just smoked up."

"But then what am I going to wear?"

"Well, I could tell Shin to wash your things while you shower…"

"Why can't you do it? Shin's a pervert."

Kish grinned and licked his lips, "So am I, and besides, I already saw your underclothes, it's Shin's turn, plus you made my clothes dirty too, so I have to take a shower as well."

Ichigo ignored his playful taunt and backed away so that the door closed. Undressing, she realized with relief that her panties held no trace of smoke. They didn't have to be washed. She knew it was disgusting, but there was no other available set of undergarments. Ichigo wrapped the towel securely around herself and walked up to the door. It _whooshed _open and she saw Kish still standing there. She blushed and handed him her top, her jeans and her pink bra.

"Nice bra," Kish took her clothing and examined the bra, "cute, and it's still warm." He smirked at her blush. "Right, I'll tell Shin to wash this." Kish walked away with the clothes in hand and Ichigo turned and took a shower.

* * *

An hour later, Ichigo had showered and washed her hair thoroughly, careful to get out all the smoke, this had proved to be a challenge, but she had done it. Ichigo stepped out of the shower. She expected to see her clothing all there, but she was sadly mistaken. All that was there was what she had left, her panties and a towel. Her eyes widened, _'Oh my gosh! What am I gonna do?! I can't walk out there topless!! And last time I looked through the boys' closets, there weren't any extras!' _Ichigo glanced around for anything else that she could wear—anything at all—but there wasn't anything. She desperately hoped that Shin was done washing her clothes. 

Ichigo dried herself and pulled on her pink panties. She once again tied the towel firmly around herself and walked up to the door. Before going out, she glanced in the mirror. Her hair stood out the most, it had grown another inch since the last time she'd seen it. _'I may not be an expert, but I _know_ that hair can't grow that fast… maybe it's the whole new Mew outfit…' _Ichigo turned her attention back to more important matters and sauntered up to the door. She gulped when it slid open. She peeked out of the door and found that the hall was empty. She tiptoed out, barefoot.

Kish saw his wet koneko with her wet hair plastered to her back and snuck behind her. He moved right by her ear and whispered, "Boo."

"AIIIIIIIII!" Ichigo's feline ears and tail sprung out and she jumped a foot in the air. She tried running away but unfortunately for her, her feet were still wet. She slipped and saw the ground rushing up to meet her.

Kish swung around and caught Ichigo in his arms. He adjusted her so that he was carrying her bridal style and grinning down at her mischievously, walked toward the control room where Shin would be.

Ichigo looked up at Kish and her hand tightened around the top of the towel, holding it in place. _'Why is it that whenever I fall, he's that one that catches me?'_

Kish cleared his throat to Shin's back, "The young human requests her washed clothing."

Shin wheeled around and smirked at the sight, a wet, confused girl wearing only a towel in the arms of a victorious, perverted cyniclon. "Now there's something you don't see everyday," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Shin, where's my clothes?" Ichigo demanded, embarrassed by his comment.

"Well, I kind of forgot to wash them," Shin said, he didn't sound sorry at all, in fact it sounded to Ichigo as if he'd forgotten on purpose.

"Hey!" Ichigo cried.

"Well, I'll wash them. Don't worry," Shin replied, turning back to the control panel.

Kish looked down at Ichigo, she was fuming. He carried her back to his room and set her down.

"Kish! Why don't you have any extra clothes?"

"I do, they're just in the luggage compartment."

Ichigo glared at Kish then sighed and seated herself on the bed. She threw her upper half on the bed as well and stared at the ceiling. "Kish, you're a guy right?" she propped herself up on her elbows and continued, not bothering to let him answer the obvious question. "Give me your top."

Kish was taken aback by her request, he blinked at her.

Ichigo stood and walked up to him. She pressed herself up against him and turned to look at his toned arms. She traced his muscles and teased, "There's a lot more I wanna see. The only way I can see it is if you take off your shirt…" she paused to see his reaction. He was smirking down at her with faint redness colouring his cheeks. "So will you give me your shirt?"

"Ichigo, I didn't know that you… hungered for my body so badly. Well, if that's what you really want… are you sure you don't want my pants as well?"

Ichigo blushed madly and backed away from him and shook her head furiously, causing water to spatter everywhere.

Kish grinned and pulled off his dark shirt. He ambled over to Ichigo and told her to raise her arms. She did so and he tugged to shirt on her, it was long enough to cover her ribs.

Ichigo smiled down at his top, it was so warm that she forgot that she only had her panties on and yanked off the towel. She smiled as the warmth tickled her cool skin. She looked up and into Kish's face. She raked her eyes over him; checking him out. She drew in her breath when she saw his chest. He was so built that she could see the outline of every muscle clearly. She threw her arms around him, pressing her bare belly against his. An intense shiver flew through Ichigo when the heat from his abs pressed against her cool stomach. "Arigato," she twisted her head and pressed her lips to his cheek.

Kish's arms found their way around Ichigo's slim waist. He felt another shudder flutter through her body when his warm arms made contact with the chilled skin of her back. "Anything for you koneko-chan."

Ichigo pressed herself closer to him and she couldn't help thinking that they fit together so snugly. She smiled and backed away saying, "Hey, my hair has gotten longer hasn't it? I don't think it's normal… it's grown so fast…" her voice trailed away when she saw her towel lying on the ground. She remembered the only reason that she had had the towel wrapped around her. Ichigo glanced at Kish and followed his gaze to her more-than-half-naked self. Her hands flew down and danced around nervously, not sure what areas to cover.

Kish watched the uncomfortable Mew try to cover herself with her thin arms. He smiled at her perfect, ivory skin.

"Hey! Stop staring at me! It's… indecent!"

Kish stepped forward and his arms enclosed her in his firm, comfortable grasp, "I could always give you my pants… but that would leave me… kinda bare…"

Ichigo blushed, "Iie, it's okay. I'm fine."

"That's good to know, I would get cold if I gave you my pants." Kish let go of Ichigo and went to sit on the bed.

Ichigo was surprised; he had never ended the embrace before. What was wrong? She strode over to him and looked him in the eye, "What's wrong?"

"It's so cold on my planet; you just won't be able to wander around like…" his eyes roamed down her bare figure and back up to her face, "_that_ anymore. We will have to be all packed up in our winter gear the whole time. I think it's great that you're… enjoying it while you can."

"So then… why are you so sad?"

"Well, there was a time when we were able to go about in summer attire all the time… the reality is really hitting me now, my planet is dying and it will take along everyone if we don't all move…"

"…we'll let you join us on Earth…"

Kish smiled up at her, suddenly his eyes lit up. He stood and grabbed Ichigo's hand. "Wanna see how the Earth used to be when we inhabited it?"

Ichigo imagined a world before industrialization. Acres and acres of land without a building in sight… She nodded eagerly and let Kish lead her into a chamber she'd never been in before. It was a cavernous, circular room with a domed ceiling. She gazed around at the emptiness with barely concealed anticipation.

"This is the VR Room."

"The what?"

"The Virtual Reality Room, I'm going to set the machine to take us back to Earth when my people inhabited it. Wait here for a while. I'll be right back." Kish raced out of the room and set the machine. He told Shin what he and Ichigo were doing then took one of the devices that would bring them back if Shin didn't.

Shin was a bit confused at what Kish was showing Ichigo. He could watch on the screen and he would be able to hear and see everything that the two were experiencing. Kish would say that they wanted to come back and he would bring them back. If something else caught his attention, Kish would just have to press the correct button on the remote-like device and the machine would shut off. He watched Kish trot back to Ichigo and he leaned back and watched what was going on.

Kish rejoined Ichigo and he pressed something on the device and told Ichigo to close her eyes. He watched as the surroundings changed.

Ichigo opened her eyes when Kish told her to and stared dumbfounded at the breathtakingly beautiful setting. They were on an empty field. Lush, green grass covered the ground for as far as Ichigo could see. Ichigo turned around and around looking for anything man-made in the horizons. There was nothing, just grass with an exception of a singular tree that stood tall and proud nearby. Ichigo stared, it was so perfect. She looked up to find a pure sapphire sky overhead. Puffy white clouds hung high and mighty in the never-ending blue sky. The sun shone strongly overhead, giving everything a surreal glow. "It's so perfect…"

Kish smiled sadly, "Well, enjoy it while you can."

Ichigo was so taken by the magnificent surroundings that she didn't notice his wistful tone. She walked forward a little to the edge of a gently sloping hill. "…Kisshu…"

Kish's ears twitched at the sound of his name and he stepped next to Ichigo.

Ichigo turned and smiled at Kish, "I never want to leave this place…"

Her eyes were so sincerely joyous that Kish forgot his nostalgia and grinned back.

The girl beamed and hugged Kish fiercely.

Kish lost his balance and dropped down into the soft whispering grass. He laughed with Ichigo and felt completely satisfied. Nothing could wreck this moment.

"Hey, wanna roll down the hill?" Ichigo asked, smiling childishly at Kish.

Kish grinned and holding her tightly around her waist, rolled toward the hill, "Only if you'll join me." He felt the ground begin to slope downward and felt them gaining momentum.

Ichigo felt the wind whip through her hair and she rolled down with Kish. She pressed her face against his chest and shut her eyes as more wind slammed against her. Her arms tightened around Kish's middle. Ichigo giggled with Kish. She felt Kish's grip on her loosen and she shrieked. She locked her arms around Kish and heard him laugh teasingly.

The ground finally evened out and the two tumbled to a stop. Kish landed on top of Ichigo and she blushed when she found him staring at her. As much as she liked the pressure his body weight introduced to her body, she pushed him off her. Kish flopped onto his back with his arms spread out. Ichigo had rolled onto on of his arms and was pressed up against his side. He moved his other arm and folded it so that his hand served as a pillow. He stared up at the sparsely clouded sky contently.

Ichigo pressed herself to his side and let her skin drink in the Vitamin D from the sun. She watched Kish; he was gazing at the sky as if there was nothing else that he could ask for. The sun's light illuminated him so flawlessly that Ichigo felt herself brimming with love for him. She found herself smiling and wondering how she'd ever hated this extraordinarily incredible person. Ichigo rested her hand on his strong chest and shut her eyes. _'It's so peaceful…' _

The girl lifted her eyelids and examined the male's gloriously toned body. _'I can't believe I never noticed before how strong he is… not to mention good-looking.' _She looked at his glistening green hair and soulful aureate irises. _'He's… perfect.' _Ichigo traced soft circles on his chest with her finger.

Kish turned to stare at Ichigo. She had an unreadable yet serene expression on her face and he didn't want to ruin the moment with a perverted joke. The corners of his lips turned up and he smiled from the bottom of his heart. "Ichigo…"

Ichigo smiled at Kish and turned to stare up at the sky, "I love everything here… everything is so beautiful…" she drew her gaze away from the sky and looked Kish in the eye. "Everything…"

Kish rolled on top of Ichigo and looked down at her intently. He was so close that his forest green hair teased her face.

Ichigo's hand rose and hid itself in his luxurious, jade hair. Her fingers hooked around his neck and pulled him slowly closer. Ichigo's heart seemed to stop while they slowly got closer and closer. Her mind was blank; she was at a loss for thoughts, all she knew was that this is what she wanted. Her nervous system seemed to have overloaded; her body had gone numb with anticipation.

The tip of his lips grazed the tip of Ichigo's and she felt electrical currents streak through her and jump-start her heart. It beat loudly in her ears and her eyes drifted shut.

Kish opened his eyes and studied the girl underneath him. He had wanted her so badly ever since he'd set eyes on her. She didn't know how much it had hurt him that she didn't love him back. Now all that was different. Kish wanted so badly to kiss the half-naked girl that was waited eagerly under him and he couldn't wait any longer. His eyes drifted shut and he pressed his lips to hers softly.

A thrill raged through Ichigo. Her heart thumped louder than ever and her other hand draped itself around the alien's neck, pushing Kish's head down, deepening the kiss. This moment would remain imprinted in her memory forever; she would never forget her first, proper kiss, and what a kiss it was. Every heartbeat echoed loudly in her head and her blood flew through her veins. All thought eluded her and she acted solely on instinct. She wanted this moment to last forever. It was so satisfyingly heavenly; so perfect. _'Everything here is so perfect…' _

Kish felt himself running out of breath and he made the kiss last as long as he could before he pulled away. It was the best thing he had ever experienced. He reluctantly pulled away and looked at Ichigo. His hand stroked her cheek and ran through her hair.

Ichigo gazed up at Kish breathlessly after the single most satisfying thing that she'd ever experienced. "Kisshu…"

His hand came to a stop when she placed one of her own on top of it, "…?"

"…" She smiled up at him. _'It was just a kiss, I don't know yet it he really loves me…' _But Ichigo knew that wasn't true. Kish had loved her for so long and she'd known it all along. She just wasn't ready to tell him yet, no matter how much she loved him.

Kish gazed at her for a while, when she began blushing, he grinned devilishly, "While we're like this, is there anything else you wanna experience?"

Ichigo's smile widened and she gave his shoulder a playful push. She was surprised when he flipped off her. She rolled over and laid her head on his chest. Ichigo stared up at the blue, blue sky contentedly.

Kish trailed his fingers along the skin of the human's cheek. He blinked when she grabbed his hand and placed it just below her collarbone.

Ichigo held his hand in place and breathed in deeply. She could feel his chest rising and falling beneath her head and she was struck by how similar the two were despite their vastly different backgrounds.

The couple lay like this for a while, enjoying each other's gentle touch. This was an experience that neither would ever forget.

Ichigo squeezed his hand before sitting up. She shifted so that her bare legs were on either side of his exposed stomach; so that she was straddling him and she just watched him. "This has been the best day of my life."

Kish reached and brushed stray hairs away from the female's face. "Wanna make it even better?"

Ichigo nodded and was surprised when Kish stood. She fastened her arms around his neck and hooked her feet around his waist. She didn't expect him to start sprinting. She laughed as wind whipped through her hair.

Kish smiled as Ichigo began laughing; he headed toward the one tree. He leapt up to the highest branch.

Ichigo removed herself from Kish when he stopped running. She carefully stepped beside him on the thick branch. Her breath hitched when she looked over the land. In the distance, an azure lake sparkled brightly in the sun. She smiled at the sight and slid her fingers into her companion's hand.

Kish gripped Ichigo's hand, "Ready to go back?" he asked gently.

The girl gazed at the angelic lake; "…" no words came to mind, so she nodded slowly. When Kish pressed the button, she watched the gorgeous land diminish into the empty, circular chamber.

The pair left the room and put the device back with the machine.

Ichigo's stomach rumbled and the two silently shared a small meal.

Afterwards, the two went back to Kish's room and lay down with Ichigo's back pressed up against Kish's chest and his arms around her. She closed her eyes and sighed. Soon, both fell asleep, knowing that the peace they had experienced today would be the last they would feel for a while.

**End Chapter**

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW, PLEASE READ!!!!!!!

so??? did you like it??

what do you think of the kiss?? you know, i almost didn't include that, but then i thought to myself, _'what better place for their first kiss than a deserted beautiful place with no one else around??' _so, how was the detail??? (_i tried my best, i haven't had my perfect kiss yet, so i don't know how it feels like :P_) was it good??

I NEED FEEDBACK NOW!!

how was the kiss??

how were the details?? lol

umm...how was the part back in Tokyo??

do you think that minto's reason not to attack deep blue were believable??

how is the story progessing?? good? bad?? on a scale of 1-10 what do you think?

what are some things that you want to happen?

was everything believable??

HOW WAS THE KISS??? (_sorry, i'm obsessing over that :P i really need to know..._)

anyways, you opinion is valued. thank you for your feedback and support.

THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!1

and, please review! i really spent a lot of time on this chapter and i think i deserve to know how you all liked it.

...oh, some bad news, i was kinda disappointed with the small amount of feedback for the past couple chapters... i was considering putting this story on hold until i finish the other story...(_please don't get angry, i just need to know what you all think so that i can improve my chapters... and i need to know what people think... so please... review... i don't really want to put this story on hold... but if that's what i have to do... _)

k, sorry for being such a wet blanket... :( don't be mad please, it'll make me sad...

i gotta go now.

xoxooxoxooxoxoxooxoxxoxoxoxoxooxox

until next time... _(if there is a next time-i really hope there is!)_

_-_lil angel

P.S. if this story is put on hold (_i'm wishing with all my heart that it's not_) i will write it in the description, you know, when you find the story and under the name theres a summary thing- a lil paragraph--- if this story is put on hold, i'll write so in the description--i'll write [ON HOLD--i really don't want to do that...so please review REVIEW _REVIEW!!_

later everyone..


	17. Distractions

**hi everyone! sorry for the delay, but it'll be worth it... i hope. :P **

**omgsh! i thought that since its break i'd write more. sorry for giving you false hope. SORRY!! (**_turns out im a lazy ass...)_

**i can't believe it's back to school in a week.. it's going to suck. :( **

**anyways, enough of my problems.**

**REVIEW REPLIES:::::::::**

**chop4tess : **Ok, first...the kiss was really good, i haven't kissed many guys but i thought it really showed their love for each other.

Second...part in Tokyo was fine

Third...yes, minto had a good reason

Fourth...You have a good strong story line going here, 10/10

Fith...when will Ichigo say 'i love you' to Kish?

sixth..."Wanna see how the Earth used to be when we inhabited it?" really don't get that part...when did they live on Earth? how did humans come along?  
Anyway...i've just read all 16 chps and i think you're doing really well, keep it up  
**Lil Angel :** THANK YOU!!!! 5th: well, i think... soon i guess, i don't know. i want her to say it at a really desperate moment. i mean liek she will be enjoying herself, but she thinks that the timing is never correct, so she never gets to it, or when she tried to say it, something interrupts, and then something ... momemtous will happen and she will say it. lol sorry if i don't make sense, i'm trying to be vague enough that i don't give away the plot, but not too vague so that you'll get it. 6th: it's kinda a long story, i'll refer you to Chapter 15-Kaosu. in the part near the end when kish n ichigo are sharing a seat n talking. it'll explain there. tell me if you still don't get it. i'll explain it to you then. just tell me that you already asked me before. :P THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE COMPLIMENTS!! XD

**Property Of Kish :** The kiss was good! Stop worrying about it:P  
Can't wait until they get to the planet and meet Kish's family!!  
PLEASE! DON'T MAKE KISH A PRINCE 'CAUSE THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OF THOSE AROUND! I BEG YOU!  
**Lil Angel : **lol thanks for the compliment. :D and don't worry, i wasn't planning on making him a prince. princes wouldn't do their own dirty work. lol _(grin)_

**okay, i've wasted enough of your time, **

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!**

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**Chapter 17-Distractions**

Deep Blue paced impatiently in the empty park. His soldiers were gone, Chimera Animas were only good for decoys and even if he wanted to go after Kish and Shin, there was the little matter of a ship. He scowled and vowed to kill Kish with his own two hands. He was the main problem, _he_ had been unable to prevent the death of Taruto and Pai, _he_ had convinced Shin to go with him and _he_ was the one responsible for Deep Blue's current predicament.

Deep Blue glanced around at the quiet surroundings. It was so calm and peaceful that it made him want to rip out his own hair.

A late night jogger entered the park and Deep Blue decided to make things livelier. He stole the human's spirit and infused it with an Infuser. He watched as a tall, deviously grinning weasel appeared dressed in skin tight running shorts and not much else other than sweat bands around its head and wrists. In its hand was a water bottle.

Deep Blue smirked, "Destroy this place," he ordered.

The Chimera put the bottle to its mouth and filled its mouth with water. It lowered the bottle and sprayed the water out. As soon as the water was out of its mouth, it turned into blue flames. When the flames settled, they flickered and died out, leaving a burned plot of land.

The cyniclon smirked and sat back in a bench, watching the destruction of the park and waiting for the Mew Mews to appear.

* * *

"Did you find anything?" Keiichiro asked. 

Ryou shook his head and sighing, spun around in his chair to face Keiichiro, "We're not getting anywhere. We've been searching since 5:30 when the girls went to bed and now it's 9:30. It's been four hours."

Keiichiro turned away from the computer screen and faced Ryou, "What do you suppose we do?" he demanded with more than just a hint of irritation.

Ryou scowled, "I—"

A loud beeping interrupted him. He and Keiichiro whirled around to face the computer. On all the screens, a map of the city was displayed with a large flashing dot at a nearby park.

"A Chimera!" Keiichiro cried.

"Let's go wake the girls."

Both of them got up and raced to awaken the females.

Ryou burst into the room that Retasu and Purin were sharing. "Wake up!" he called, flicking on the light. He went over to Retasu and gently shook her shoulder.

Retasu stirred and looked up blearily at Ryou, "What is it?"

"A Chimera is attacking, you need to get up," Ryou said before turning to Purin. "Purin!" he shook her shoulder similarly until she was awake and looking up at him confusedly. "Purin, a Chimera Anima is attacking. See if you can move your leg without it hurting."

Purin braced herself for a spasm of pain and shifted her leg. To her surprise, no pain came. She blinked and sat up abruptly. She swung her legs off the bed and was thrilled to see that no pain whatsoever reached her. "I'm healed!" she exclaimed.

Ryou knelt down in front of her and began working on taking off the cast. "Retasu, sit up and see if your cut is healed too."

Retasu did as she was told and, like Purin, felt no pain. Grinning, she began unwinding her bandages. By the time they were off, she could hear footsteps in the hallway approaching their room. She looked down at her stomach and was relieved to see that not even a scar remained. Retasu looked up as Keiichiro, Zakuro and Minto poured into the bedroom. All three looked ecstatic. Minto's legs were free of bandages and both girls carried a pile of limp bandages in their arms.

"We're healed!" Minto cried excitedly.

"That's great," Ryou said, struggling with the white cast. Fed up, he growled, "Someone help me out with this stupid thing." He stepped back as Keiichiro moved forward and crouched in front of Purin. Ryou cleared his throat and began, "Now that you're all awake, there is a Chimera Anima attacking a nearby park. As soon as Purin's cast is off, you four will have to go and stop it. Keiichiro and I will stay behind and monitor the fight. If anything goes wrong, we'll do what we can to help."

After fiddling with the cast for a couple minutes, Keiichiro managed to slip the cast off of the youngest Mew's leg. He smiled up at her, "Good as new."

Purin stood up experimentally and then beamed, throwing her arms around Keiichiro. "I hated that old thing! It was so itchy!"

Keiichiro laughed, "You're welcome." Standing, he turned to Ryou. "Shall we show them which park?"

Nodding, Ryou led the way back to the computer.

Within moments, the six of them were congregated in front of the computer.

Ryou pointed to the flashing dot on the screen and highlighted a path from the café to the park. "Go quickly, it been there for a while, it's probably destroyed most of the park already."

Keiichiro switched the view on one of the screens from a map to one of the cameras stationed at the park. He zoomed in to the park so that they could clearly see what was going on. A Chimera Weasel had burned a once peaceful park into a mess of rubble and unknown burned substances.

The girls gasped in unison. "That's horrible!" "How awful!" "What monsters!" "Oh no!" Similar cries expressed regret on behalf of the Mew Mews for the forlorn park. "MEW-TAMORPHOSIS!" the girls morphed into their Mew Mew forms and began running toward the door.

"Wait girls," Ryou called. When all four had turned and were looking at him, he continued, "Mew Ichigo is not here and she usually delivers the last blow. It will be harder this time and someone else will have to take the liberty of finishing off the Chimera."

The girls nodded and were about to go when Keiichiro stopped them.

"Is that… It is! Ryou look at this. It's Deep Blue! He's the one that created the Chimera. Girls, go now! Don't let him get away."

The girls nodded and hurried out the door. Once outside, they jumped onto a building and leapt all the way to the park. It was faster than running and it wouldn't tire them out as much.

As soon as they reached the park, they stopped dead in their tracks. Nothing in the park was recognizable. In the centre of the charred remains of the park stood the Chimera Weasel that the girls had seen on Keiichiro's computer screen. The Mews scanned the outskirts of the park, and there he was. A smug smile graced Deep Blue's face as he reclined in a bench that was still intact and watched the festivities.

Zakuro scowled, she silently called forth her weapon and swung her arm toward the cyniclon. The purple whip was stopped mid-flight by the Chimera.

"Zakuro!" Retasu cried, "First the Chimera, _then_ him."

The four girls turned their attention to the weasel.

"Combat Castanets! Deep Sea Surge Attack!" a wave of water shot toward the Chimera.

The weasel flitted to the side. Since he had been created by the spirit of a jogger, he was lightening fast; he easily dodged the attack.

The girls tried attacking one by one and none of their attacks hit, nonetheless, they kept at it.

Deep Blue sighed, this was getting boring. He teleported into the air above the Chimera and everyone stopped, looking up at him. "It's a shame that you don't use your numbers to your advantage. If you did, you could probably win." He stopped talking and it acted as a signal for the fight to continue.

Again, the girls attacked at random.

"He's right!" Purin yelled, flipping backwards to avoid a swing of the weasel's long tail. "Tambourine Trench!" she cried, attacking from behind.

"Heart Arrow!"

"Tidal Wave Rush!"

The girls attacked simultaniously from different places around the Chimera.

Deep Blue watched the Chimera Weasel glance around desperately for an escape. _'Good for them.' _He cast one last glance down at the battle and saw that the Chimera had found an escape, but he hadn't escaped unscathed; the oldest Mew's whip had left a deep unbleeding gash on the Chimera. Thanks to his advice, the girls were employing their advantage and now they had the upper hand in the battle. It would not last much longer. _'Time to go.' _He thought coming up with a plan. The Chimera Anima would serve as a distraction while he put his plan into action.

When he was sure that the girls were not watching him anymore, Deep Blue teleported to Café Mew Mew. He appeared standing in the middle of the back room where two human males were working furiously on the computer.

"Ryou! Deep Blue just disappeared!" Keiichiro cried, unaware of the uninvited guest behind him.

"Damn! We lost him again!"

"On the contrary, you know exactly where I am," Deep Blue said in a smooth, mocking tone.

Ryou and Keiichiro whipped around to face the speaker. To their shock, Deep Blue stood before them.

A sinister smirk unfurled on his pale face. He summoned his sword and using the flat edge, swept it heavily toward the boys' heads. Both humans fell to the ground unconscious. Deciding to have a little fun with this, Deep Blue scrawled a riddle on a loose piece of paper before grabbing the front of Ryou's shirt and teleporting to his lair.

Once within the familiar walls of the alternate universe, Deep Blue found a suitable cage for the human and locked him inside. He then grabbed a chair and sitting beside the human, watched the fuzzy green-black sky move slowly.

Soon, he would be rid of those troublesome Mew Mews and he would be free to conquer the planet.

* * *

"HEART ARROW!" Minto screamed, releasing her attack on the Chimera Anima. 

A look of alarm crossed the mutated animal's face before it dissolved, leaving an Infuser and a human spirit.

Masha flitted over and hungrily swallowed the Infuser. The human spirit flew back to its owner. The man stood and looked around confusedly. A frightened expression painted itself on his face when he noticed how dark it was. He glanced at his watch and dusting himself off, disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as the man was a safe distance away, the girls scanned the park, looking for signs of the cyniclon behind this mess. Deep Blue was nowhere to be seen.

"We lost him," Purin sighed, exhausted.

"He must've teleported away when he saw that we were winning," Retasu glanced at Minto and saw that her expression was a mixture of relief, anger and confusion.

"Why did he help us? Without his advice, we didn't stand a chance," Minto asked, "Maybe—"

"No Minto, Masaya is gone. As hard as it is, it's the truth," Zakuro said brusquely, turning and walking back in the direction of Café Mew Mew.

Purin and Retasu shot quick looks at Minto's dejected expression and gently ushered her along, after Zakuro.

When the girls arrived at the café, they morphed back to their human selves and stepped into the back computer room. They were horrified to see that Keiichiro was sprawled across the floor, unconscious.

Zakuro's eyes widened and she knelt beside her boyfriend. She turned him face-up and put his head on her lap. She brushed his hair away from his face quickly and fearfully cried, "Keiichiro! Keii-kun! Wake up!" When he didn't move, she turned to Retasu and barked, "Go get some cold water and a fresh rag." She turned back to Keiichiro and gazed down at him anxiously, impatiently awaiting the cold water.

Retasu scurried into the kitchen and filled a large bowl with cool water; she grabbed a clean rag and carefully carried the items back to Zakuro. She set them beside her and backed away, allowing Zakuro to care for Keiichiro.

Zakuro frantically dipped the rag into the water and folding the rag, carefully set it on Keiichiro's forehead. To her delight, he stirred. Soon, grey eyes were staring up at her. Zakuro put a hand to her chest to calm her pounding heart and sighed in relief.

Keiichiro tried to sit up, but Zakuro stopped him.

"Not yet, you were hit on the head, your probably still dizzy," she fingered the bump on his head worriedly before continuing, "tell us what happened."

"Deep Blue came. He knocked me and Ryou out."

"Where's Ryou?" Retasu demanded, her heart beat quickened as she glanced around worriedly, looking for the other boy.

Keiichiro turned his head to look around, a stricken look crossed his features, "He was here with me when Deep Blue came."

"Hey, what's this?" Purin asked, she had wandered over to the computer and there was a scrap of paper with loopy handwriting on it.

Minto stepped over and snatching the paper, read it aloud:

"_aTop The flower wiThin Tokyo_

_in a place abandoned no long ago_

_enter the threshold, step toward me_

_press my middle, I'll let you see_

_an alternate route to where he lies_

_come quick or else he dies._

_-Deep Blue"_

Retasu looked puzzled, "I don't get it." Retasu looked down at Keiichiro for more information. "Keiichiro?"

Keiichiro had a shocked expression on his face, "When it says _'where he lies, come quick or else he dies,' _it means that…" Keiichiro paused and looked Retasu in the eyes, "he took Ryou," he finished quietly.

"No!" Retasu cried, horror-struck. She dropped to her knees, her eyes wide, "Ryou…" she whimpered.

Keiichiro averted his gaze, "I'm sorry, I should've been faster to react," he mumbled, but Retasu was not paying any attention. She was clutching her hands in front of her chest and trembling.

Minto hurried over and put her arms around Retasu, she made soft shushing noises until Retasu was sobbing on her shoulder.

Zakuro turned back to Keiichiro and stroked his face, "It's not your fault. We should've kept an eye on him." When Keiichiro looked back up at Zakuro, she was taken aback to see that his expression had morphed into an ugly mask of hatred.

"If that bastard kills Ryou, I _will_ shred him to pieces and feed him to the dogs."

* * *

11:00p.m. 

It had barely been three hours since they'd fallen asleep, yet Ichigo stirred. She opened her eyes slowly, she still wasn't fully awake, but she was lucid enough to be able to sense her surroundings. From the steady pressure against her right shoulder, she figured out that she was lying on that shoulder. Something warm was pressed right up against her back and there seemed to be arms around her.

Ichigo decided that she was still too tired to get up, so she reflected on past events. The first image that came to mind was one of Kish, smiling warmly down at her. He was so flawless; his beautiful, smoldering eyes seemed to suppress more mysteries that anyone would be able to sort through in just one lifetime. The colour of his irises was extraordinary; the rich shade was like liquid gold which grew livelier with each of his fiery emotions. His dark emerald hair framed his pale face in soft waves that smelled fresh all the time. The shade of green was comforting and natural, anytime Ichigo touched it, she just wanted to let her hands massage his scalp and have the feeling of silky hair running through her fingers last forever. His face was so striking that Ichigo had a hard time believing that it was real and that he actually acknowledged her and favoured her with so many of his breathtaking smiles; which made her heart quicken, made her forget about all her troubles and made her feel light-headed. His body; oh his glorious body, an image of a shirtless Kish offering her his pants assaulted Ichigo and she yearned to reach out and press herself to his muscular chest. She imagined herself back in that situation and she walked herself up to him and pressed herself to him. She locked her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled her virtual self away, they were back in the VR Room with him lying over her. Ichigo's heart pounded and a warm feeling bloomed inside her. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, imagining his lips pressed against hers in a tender kiss. He was such an amazing kisser that she never wanted to pull away.

Ichigo sighed and opened her eyes, she was fully awake now. She was enjoying the feel of Kish's arms around her when she realized something. Both his arms weren't around her waist. His left arm was draped from her right shoulder to the left side of her waist, going in between her breasts. His right arm came up from underneath her right side and was hanging off the left side of her waist going across her stomach. Altogether, his arms formed an upside-down seven.

Ichigo enjoyed being so close to him with him holding her to himself. She smiled a little to herself and looked down. Her blinked when she didn't see his arms. Realization stunned her; his arms were under the shirt he'd lent her. Blushing furiously, she could suddenly feel his warm skin pressed right up next to hers. She blinked and took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She was perfectly comfortable.

She smiled shyly and tentatively crossed her arms over his right arm and sighed contentedly. After resting for awhile and thinking about the one she loved, she called his name softly, "Kisshu…"

Kish heard his name being called and stirring, awoke immediately. Years of vigilance had not allowed him to become a deep sleeper, "What is it koneko-chan?"

"Wake up, Kisshu-kun."

Kish chuckled, "I'm awake now koneko-chan. What do you need?"

"I just… got bored of being the only one awake."

"Heh… you're not alone anymore."

Ichigo could feel the smile in his words, "I know."

Kish felt her tighten her arms around his. It was then that he realized where his other arm was. A faint blush crept across his face when he noticed that his arms were under her top. He could feel her chest rise and fall gently and he stiffened, clearly expecting a flustered outburst of embarrassment from the human. "You don't mind…?"

Though he was being very vague, she knew exactly what he was talking about, he was referring to the position of his arms. Ichigo pressed her head back against his shoulder and inhaled deeply, "Well, it _is_ quite comfortable…"

Relaxing, Kish bent his head down and gently pressed his lips to her exposed neck. He felt Ichigo's head press down harder against his shoulder and knew that she, like him, had her eyes closed in bliss.

"As much as I'm sure both of you are enjoying groping each other, aren't there other things you should be doing?"

Ichigo's eyes sprang open just as she felt Kish's lips freeze on her neck. She brought her head forward and flushed as she saw Shin watching them with an amused expression on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his pale blue eyes. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," he replied, grinning.

Kish lifted his face and smirked at Shin, "Bet you want some o'this," he mocked.

Ichigo turned bright red at his comment and when she felt Kish nibble on her earlobe before untangling himself from her.

Kish got up and walked over to the direction in which Ichigo was facing. He offered his hand and when she took it, he helped her up. He wrapped his arm around her and was pleased when she did the same.

Ichigo tipped her head upwards and standing on her tiptoes, leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Good morning," she murmured. When he'd gotten up, the sudden loss of heat had left her shivering, so when he had helped up stand and pulled her to him with his arm around her shoulder, she had complied by winding her own arm around his waist and holding herself to him. This way, they were both happy; the kiss had just been for good measure.

"Now Shin, what other things ought we be doing?" Kish asked.

"Well, for one, I saw Mew Ichigo's new uniform and weapons; it wouldn't hurt to step into a dojo to train."

Ichigo blinked, he was right, she eyed Shin and keeping her eyes on him said, "He has a point Kisshu, let's do it."

"Well okay, but we aren't going to use our own weapons, we'll go to a dojo that has wooden swords that won't hurt too much," the green-haired alien agreed. He glanced down at Ichigo fondly then swept his gaze back to Shin. "We'll be going now. I'll take a remote with me. I think that you should watch outside for any asteroids. There is an asteroid belt nearby, shoot any that are heading our way, make sure that the ship stays safe and intact."

Without waiting for a reply, Kish guided Ichigo back toward the VR Room. On the way, he grabbed the remote-like device and set the machine.

They stood inside the huge room and watched it change into a rectangular dojo with different sized and shaped wooden weapons lining the walls. Ichigo and Kish both went to opposite sides of the room and chose swords that they saw fit.

"We'll start off with dual swords. Take any two you want. They don't have to be the same."

Both had chosen two wooden katanas, after all, there was not much variety when all the swords were made out of wood. They faced each other about five feet away holding the blades in either hand.

Ichigo studied Kish to see if there was any specific stance that she should be in, but he was standing the same way she was; straight with each sword hanging limply in his hands.

"Come at me," he said, "the first phase of your training will be: you have to land a hit on me."

Ichigo grinned suddenly, "I understand sensei." She watched him quirk an amused eyebrow in answer to her response before she charged at him. When she was close enough, she swung her right sword to her left side and swept it widely in front of her back across to its designated side, if Kish had remained stationary, it would have hit him for sure.

Kish easily avoided her attack by stepping backwards to stay out of range.

Ichigo continued running forward and pulled her sword back toward herself. She tried again by jabbing the sword forward and sweeping her left sword from its lowered position upwards, straight up into the air.

Kish saw the opening that Ichigo had created and sidestepping the jab, slid in. He paused in front of her and waited for her to start bringing her sword back down. Once she did, he used his swords to force aside hers. "If I were an enemy, I would be able to kill you right now. Come on, you can do better than this." Kish leapt back a step and swung his right sword toward her left side. He stopped less than an inch from her body and said, "All you have to do is hit me. It doesn't have to be hard, just a hit."

Ichigo scowled at his mocking smirk. She slashed, swirled, swiped and sliced with her blade over and over again.

Kish easily dodged her hits for over ten minutes. As they kept going, her aim became clumsier and less accurate; her motions became short and jerky. Kish sighed, at this rate, they would get nowhere. Kish took offensive by stepping forward and driving her toward the wall with simple yet efficient strikes. Once against the wall, he easily disarmed and pinned her by holding his weapon to her neck.

Ichigo lifted her chin in an attempt to put some space between her neck and the wooden weapon. It failed; Kish just pressed the wood closer.

He leaned in so that his face was right next to her irate one and said silkily, "We are getting nowhere. Don't let your temper get to you; it'll reduce your efficiency." He cast quick glances to see where her discarded swords lay. They were far enough that she wouldn't be able to reach them without having to take a few steps. "Now, what would you do in a situation like this?"

Taking a few deep breaths, Ichigo glanced around for the location of her swords. Seeing how far away they were, she cursed silently. She glared into Kish's calm face and noticed that he hadn't even broken a sweat yet while she could feel drops of sweat rolling down her cheek, her neck, her back and even her leg on top of that, she was panting heavily. Her few articles of clothing would be damp with sweat soon at this rate. Continuing to glare, her right hand brushed a wooden dagger hanging on the wall. Her mind raced and she knew that she wouldn't be able to get it off the wall without a good distraction. Looking around frantically, she saw nothing that could help her. An idea suddenly popped into her head and raising her left hand, she grabbed him around his neck. Knowing that she would only have one shot at this, she pulled him close before jamming her lips against his.

Kish's eyes widened as Ichigo forced her lips against his. His mind went temporarily blank as her lips moved against his. His eyes were beginning to close despite his efforts when he caught a flash of movement. Ichigo's free hand was pulling a small wooden dagger from the wall. _'Heh, devious….'_

Just as she was bringing the dagger up, Kish sprang backwards. He smirked at her disappointed expression and her flushed face, "It was a good distraction," he licked his lips, "but you're going to have to be a lot more subtle if that's going to work."

It had been unspeakably hard for Ichigo to kiss him and focus on something else. Her thoughts had fled and for an instant; she had committed herself to the kiss. Then she'd remembered the whole point of the kiss and fumbled around for the dagger, unfortunately for her, Kish had discovered her motive by then. Disappointment and embarrassment had filled her for her brazen actions.

If subtleness was what she needed, that what she would use, Ichigo bolted toward her swords and scooped them up. She was standing only six to seven feet away from Kish. Whirling, she flung the dagger at Kish and ran after it. As he dodged the dagger, she swung in and swiped at him. Again she missed. Having a backup plan, she swiped her other sword at him, when he leapt back, she lunged and jabbed a sword at him. He dodged that as well. Not willing to give up, she kicked out with her leg.

Kish's cockiness had overwhelmed his vigilance for an instant and he was not expecting her kick, he blinked and skidded backwards. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo was still extracting her sword from its jab. He twisted away from it and lost his balance.

Normally, he would've teleported away, but on a moving ship that was travelling at light-speed, teleporting was not a very smart thing to do because the place he wanted to teleport to was always moving seeing as they were on a moving ship. To do that required much concentration, discipline and practice; he did not have nearly enough of any.

While Kish was stumbling backwards, Ichigo saw her chance and crouching, swung her leg around on the floor, effectively knocking him off his feet. She stood and scurried over to stand above him. She stood with a leg on either side of him so that he couldn't roll away and pointed her sword down at him. While she still had the chance, she flicked her sword upwards to tap his chin. Panting, Ichigo flopped lightly onto Kish's chest.

The alien saw how exhausted she was and smirking; he lifted his knee to form an upside-down V and allowed her to rest against it, "Took you long enough," he commented dryly.

Ichigo grinned, "I thought I'd never get you."

"Well you know, you looked pretty pathetic swinging around wildly, I thought I'd cut you a break."

"Hey!" Ichigo protested playfully, "You know I caught you off guard with that kick."

"Well, at least you finally started using your head instead of stumbling around pointlessly," Kish propped himself up on his elbows and gazed at Ichigo with an approving gaze.

Ichigo blushed at his unintentional compliment. She leaned forward and brushed stray bangs out of his eyes affectionately. Thin fingers tipped his chin upwards to face her. She ran her fingers lightly across the skin of his smooth cheek. Unknowingly, she had shifted forward. Her lips grazed his forehead before she sat back. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was suddenly very aware of her scant attire.

Kish smirked and said, "The other one was much more satisfying."

Ichigo flushed, "I had no choice!" she objected feebly.

"Well, if you wanted to distract me, you could've stepped on my foot or hit me… but if you ask me, _that_ is a terrific way to distract people."

A small smile spread across Ichigo's face.

"Shall we continue?" Kish asked.

"That depends. What's next?"

"Well, you're not going to like it, but, you have to do the same thing blindfolded."

"Blindfolded?! That's absurd! I can't do it blindfolded! If it took that long without a blindfold, I can't even imagine how long it will take to do this without being able to see. That is absolutely outrageous!" Ichigo thought of how long it had taken her, all the effort, all the sweat, all the failing strategies that she'd had to endure until finally, something had worked. Her indignation was building up at the thought of all the extra effort it would take to do the same thing blindfolded.

Soft fingers swept her hair away from her face and ran through her hair repeatedly, soothingly. Finally, she looked up.

"Calm down koneko-chan," a silky voice murmured. His fingers trailed down her arm and to her hand. He held her hand up and pressed his lips against her knuckles, "I have complete faith in you." Keeping his lips pressed against her hand, his eyes flicked up to hers. Kish saw that she had calmed down and an endearing blush had crept across her features.

Ichigo was dimly aware of her head bobbing up and down in a nod as she stared, mesmerized, into his lustrous golden orbs. How had she not noticed all this before? When it was right in front of her, how had she missed it?

Together, they stood up.

"So, do you agree?" Kish asked, having removed his lips from her hand.

Ichigo nodded meekly, still gazing, transfixed into his eyes.

Kish grinned and quickly unbound the deep red bandage binding his left wrist. He stood in front of Ichigo and wrapped the material around her head, effectively cutting off her vision. Tying off the bandage at the back of her head, he looked over his handiwork. Testing his work, he asked, "How many fingers am I holding up?" he held three fingers up in front of her face.

Ichigo struggled to open her eyes, it was impossible for her to see, he had done a good job. Nevertheless, she would answer his question correctly, she raised her hands and feeling his hand, counted how many fingers were up, "Three," she answered triumphantly.

"Cheater," Kish laughed. He handed Ichigo her two swords and kicked the discarded dagger aside, so as not to get in the way. He snatched his own wooden blades and stood passively in front of her. "Come," he said simply.

Ichigo ran forward with her swords raised, she stopped when she heard his laugh coming from another direction. She began running that way until she took too many steps and ran into the wall. Grunting, she listened for his snicker, which came as expected from her left. She whirled blindly and suddenly felt lips pressed to hers. As quickly as they had come, they retreated, much to Ichigo's dismay. Again she heard Kish and she charged his way and as before, she found nothing but solid wall.

This continued on and on, her blundering around blindly while Kish took advantage of her weakness by stealing kisses every now and then and leading her into walls. Soon, Ichigo grew too worn out to continue. She slumped against a wall she'd located rather unceremoniously and slid down so that she was seated. She leaned her head back against the wall and felt lips press gently against hers. She just realized what was happening and started kissing him back when he pulled away. Her chin lifted in the expectation for him to come back, but he never did.

"You're not helping," she snapped, frustrated at herself for not being able to hit him and frustrated at him for not staying still long enough for her to be able to hit him. She was getting tired of this.

A chuckle sounded from above her and she knew that he was standing in front of her. "Are you giving up my precious?"

Ichigo pouted and abandoning her swords, crossed her arms, "I can't do it!" Hoping she looked defiant, she glared up at him blindly, and willed him to make fun of her so that she'd have an excuse to pit all her irritation on him.

Kish smiled gently down at her unseeing face; his fingers brushed her hair away from her face, "You'll get the hang of it," he promised. "For now though, I think I ought to teach you some stuff that you can actually handle and use in battle." Kish sat cross-legged in front of her and began untying the bandage.

"Are you saying that this was all for no reason?"

"No, this is just an exercise to hone your skills—"

"What skills?" Ichigo screeched, "You haven't taught me anything yet."

"Well, if you can accomplish these two tasks first, it will be easier to learn the moves and easier for you than if you try it later."

"What? If I do this later, won't I have more skills, so it'll be easier for me to hit you?"

"Not exactly, since you are no longer a beginner when you've already learned everything, I can no longer go easy on you."

Ichigo laughed harshly, and sarcastically spat, "_That_ was going _easy_ on me?" she wasn't in a very amicable mood.

"Well, seeing as you were able to hit me, yes."

Ichigo stuck her tongue out at Kish rebelliously and then laughed. All of it was so ironic, two weeks ago, she'd been your typical superhero who hated the enemy and now, she was sharing kisses with him and he was teaching her how to fight. Everything had turned upside-down and within a span of approximately two weeks, she'd grown to love him with all her being.

When the bandage was off, Ichigo rubbed her eyes and blinked until her vision cleared. She watched Kish fumble with the bandage until she finally took it and began wrapping it around his pale wrist. She felt Kish's intense gaze cutting into her, but she didn't look up until she'd secured the bandage.

Ichigo reddened under the careful scrutiny of his gaze, but could not bring herself to look away.

Kish smirked suddenly and stood, offering his hand to the human.

Ichigo took his hand and allowed him to haul her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, he jumped backward and she bent down to pick up her swords. She stepped forward a bit to distance herself from the wall and she stopped a few steps away from Kish.

Kish inclined his head a little and said, "Koneko."

Ichigo on the other hand, bowed exaggeratedly and said, "Sensei." She straightened up and watched Kish warily.

"I'm going to teach you a series of… manoeuvres that will help you slay the enemy. The simplest of the said is this…" Kish demonstrated a move and Ichigo mimicked him until Kish was satisfied that she'd gotten the hang of it.

"Good, next one is at the same level of simplicity, but is very effective…"

Kish exhibited the move and Ichigo copied, they repeated this process over and over. Kish introducing her to moves while she did them to the best of her ability until Kish nodded his approval and displayed his next move. Over and over until Kish thought she'd had enough. Kish taught her moves that were designed for two blades, one blade and he even trained her in unarmed combat.

Then, after a brief break, they drilled through all the moves a few times.

Finally, after another break, they held a mock fight, Kish versus Ichigo. Several blades were broken, but they didn't miss a step while they battled with one blade. When both blades were broken, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat until they approached the wall and obtained more arms.

By the end of it all, Ichigo was skilled enough to land several blows on the experienced alien.

Kish had been disarmed, he threw a carefully aimed kick at Ichigo's hand and knocked her remaining blade out of her grip. He stepped up next to her and whipped his forearm under her chin, forcing her to stagger backwards. Before she could react, he positioned his leg in the path of her stumbling and gave her neck a nudge backwards. The human fell and he hastily pinned her by straddling her and again holding his forearm under her chin while enclosing her thin wrists in his hand.

Ichigo coughed when she hit the wooden floor. Again she found a cool arm pressed against her hot neck and her hands were secured in his viselike grip.

Kish pressed his arm harder against her neck.

The girl could feel the pressure against her neck steadily increasing and finally, she sputtered, "I give."

He let go of Ichigo and sat beside her. Kish took a mental once-over of his condition, he was beginning to break a sweat and he had acquired a small amount of ugly bluish-black bruises. He examined Ichigo and saw that her skin was slick with sweat and she had numerous bruises dotting her skin. She'd overexerted herself by far. He smiled, she was no longer a hopeless beginner, but she was not quite an expert, she was good though and that was all that mattered. "You did well," he praised her.

Ichigo's entire body ached. She'd overdone it and she knew it. She tried to form words, but she was far to exhausted and she settled for breathing erratically, trying to satiate her screaming muscles' desperate need for oxygen. She lay still and felt the cool air slowly bring her body temperature down by a couple degrees.

Eventually, she was rested enough and she sat up. Her stomach grumbled and she rested her hand on her belly, she was disgusted to find that it was sticky with her sweat. She made a face and looked at Kish, "Can we go now?"

Kish grinned, "Of course." He pulled out the remote which, miraculously hadn't been destroyed by one of her wayward swings. He pressed one of the buttons and the dojo faded into the empty VR Room.

"Kisshu, I'm going to take a quick shower. I'll be out in around ten minutes, after that, can we eat something?"

Kish nodded and guided her out of the room and led her to the door of the bathroom.

"I thought chivalry was dead," Ichigo muttered to herself.

Kish smirked down at her when he heard her comment and fingered a long strand of her reddish-copper hair before silently ambling down the hall and around the corner.

Frowning at his strange behaviour, Ichigo treated herself to a much needed shower.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ichigo exited the bathroom and walked into the Control Room where she found Kish and Shin talking. As soon as she stepped in, the aliens stood and led her into a room she recognized as the cafeteria. Food was set out on a table waiting for the three of them. 

The three seated themselves and ate in silence.

After the meal, Ichigo spoke up, "Hey Shin-san, are we there yet?"

"Almost, while you and Kish were training, we passed through the asteroid belt which means that there's only a few hours left."

"What time will we land?" she pressed.

"Well, in Earth-time we would land at…" he spent a moment calculating before answering, "approximately seven o'clock a.m."

"And what time is it now?"

"It should be…" another pause, "around 3:00a.m."

Ichigo's eyes brightened and she looked excitedly at Kish who had been unnaturally silent through the little exchange. "We're almost there!" she cried eagerly. "Kisshu, I'm finally gunna meet your family!"

Kish felt his stomach do a nervous flip at the memory of his parents' sad smiles and his older brother's angry sneer as he departed on his mission to Earth. He knew that his parents were proud of him for being so patriotic but he also knew that none of them believed in forcing the humans away to make room for the citizens of Kaosu. He shuddered at the prospect of facing them and telling them that he'd failed yet again and left them for so long with nothing to show for it. He gulped at the thought of what they might say.

He was forcing a smile for Ichigo's sake when another more alarming thought assaulted him, what if his entire family had been slaughtered by these violent intruders? What if he had nobody to go back to? A lump grew in his throat as anxiety and fear built up in his stomach and spread like a virus throughout him. He wanted to know how everyone was, yet a part of him dreaded knowing the answer in case it was the wrong one.

Kish glanced at Ichigo as she beamingly made conversation with Shin. He clenched his teeth and fighting down his fear, forced himself to join their merry conversation while one desperate plea resounded over and over in his head.

'_Please be okay._

_Please be okay._

_Please be okay._

_Please be okay.'_

**End Chapter**

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**well? how was it?**

**i have no energy this time to be so perky. lol sorry :P**

**anyways,**

**FEEDBACK TIME**

**what do you think? **

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_**...no energy...**_

**thank you for providing your VERY valuable opinions.**

**THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are really appreciated!**

**and... now i'm out of all energy. (_slumps against computer)_**

**ok, please, please please please PLEASE review.**

**k, gotta go** _(buy some ink for my printer...)_

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**-lil angel**

**P.S. review REVIEW _REVIEW--thank you all!!!_**


	18. Determination

**I CAN EXPLAIN!!**

**my motherboard (in my computer) broke down or got messed and we had to by a new one. the problem was that the new ones are built differently, so all the parts had to be replaced. On top of that, if too many parts are replaced, than the computer has to be reformatted. my computer is still in the stages of being resuscitated. my brother is in the process of reinstalling everything (hes a computer geek).**

**and now, i'm on someone's laptop! i just finished writing the chapter and now i'm updating. **

**(_dont hurt me)_ but i have some bad news--the next chapters might be a little slow. especially since i have to balance two stories (_one chapter for Story1, then Story2, then back to Story1, and Story2. and so on.)_ i'm sorry, but i'll try my best. i'm trying to arrange a schedule so that i might be able to use some of my lunch hour to work on my stories everyday. i'll try my best, so please be patient with me. again sorry in advance.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE::::**

**GUYZZ THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT--PLEASE READ IT!!!!!**

**THE TIME OF DAY, NUMBER OF HOURS/DAY (24) HOUR LENGTH(60minz) WILL BE THE SAME ON KAOSU AS ON EARTH TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR ALL OF US**

**I HOPE THAT THIS IS SATISFACTORY! REVIEW IF U HAV ANY OBJECTIONS**

**(_i know that it'z unrealistic for two planets to have the exact same...stuff(_**_mentioned above_**_), but it's easier to write this way and WAY easier for the reader to understand_)**

**okay, this is a super-duper long chapter just for you (**_OVER 8000 WORDS)_

**ANYWAYZ---READ ON!!!**

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**Chapter 18-Determination**

Ryou's head throbbed and the thick blackness in his head cleared. He opened his eyes and everything was blurry. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and rubbed the heaviness from his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was sure that he was hallucinating. Broken pillars floated in a horribly disfigured greenish-black background. _'Where am I?'_

Frowning Ryou sat up. Blinking a couple times, Ryou looked around. All around him was the same, bizarre landscape. The only thing that could've passed for normal was a chair that had elegantly carved designs perched on a wide platform. Slumped on the chair was Deep Blue looking bored and staring off into the distance.

Memories came surging back to Ryou. He remembered how he and Keiichiro had been working in Café Mew Mew while the girls were off fighting a Chimera Anima and how Deep Blue had come in. The said had knocked the two out and seeing as Ryou didn't recognize his surroundings, Deep Blue must've kidnapped him.

Ryou stood up and brushed himself off. His anger grew when Deep Blue merely glanced at him and did nothing else. Scowling, Ryou began storming toward the alien, "You let me go right—!"

Deep Blue sighed and snapped his fingers. A sudden scraping noise cut off Ryou's angry demand.

Ryou stopped in his tracks. His anger was replaced by panic as he searched for the source of the noise.

The noise got louder and Ryou looked up, wide-eyed, just as a metal barred cage fell around him, trapping him in a space a little under 2 metres squared.

Ryou realized what Deep Blue had just done and he his anger returned into a tidal wave of fury. "HEY!" Ryou bellowed angrily. For the next while, Ryou screamed at the alien, demanding to be set free, when that didn't work, Ryou began roaring profanities. When that yielded no results, he scowled and began doing the one thing that he'd vowed never to do; yelling racial slurs. "What's the point of trying? You alien _scum_ will never win." This got to him.

Deep Blue stood and walked up to the cage, all the while watching at him menacingly. Once the alien was standing right in front of Ryou, he blinked and his ice blue eyes were suddenly red. Deep Blue narrowed his eyes and thrust his fish through the bars and at Ryou's chest.

Ryou tried to dodge the attack, but he was far too slow. The force of the attack sent Ryou flying. His back slammed into the other end of the small cage. The breath was knocked out of Ryou's lungs and he grimaced in pain. _'That's going to leave a mark,' _Ryou thought as he gasped for breath, he could practically feel his chest bruising. Trying to hide his pain, Ryou straightened up and glared at Deep Blue.

"What makes you think that I won't kill you?"

Ryou paled a little, but he answered confidently, "Because you haven't done so yet."

Deep Blue smirked, "Maybe I wanted you to be awake so you can suffer."

Ryou opened his mouth to say something, but he could think of nothing to say to that, so he tried a different tack, "What do you want from me?"

Deep Blue's smirk widened, "Well, you see, you are bait. I left a riddle for your friends; they will come looking for you if they can decipher the riddle. If they can't, you die of starvation. _If_ they find their way into here, which is doubtful, the Mews will not be able to transform in this universe and I'll be able to kill them once and for all. Then, the planet will fall and become mine." The alien laughed mockingly and drawled, "Now do you see? Do you see that I will win and the humans will fall?" Without waiting for a reply, Deep Blue turned and ambled back to his chair. Seating himself, he regarded Ryou smugly.

Ryou was staring ahead with horror; Deep Blue's plan seemed to be flawless. There seemed to be no way to escape. Once Team Mew found him, they would be defenceless and they'd be killed mercilessly by Deep Blue. On top of all that, it was all his fault. Ryou's back slid down the metal bars and he seated himself, sagging against them.

'_I have to do something! I have to stop Deep Blue from winning!_

_How?_

…_I don't know. There doesn't seem to be any flaws in his plan._

_Nothing's perfect, there has to be a flaw, or at least some sort of advantage that you have over him, something… anything._

_The only thing that I can come up with is the fact that he doesn't know for certain that the team will be able to figure out his riddle. If they don't, then they'll be safe._

_What about you?_

_It doesn't matter as long as they're all safe._

_That isn't a problem, if they don't find this place, then he can just go after them again and kidnap someone else._

…_I don't know!'_

Ryou mind worked furiously, there didn't seem to be any hope for him at all. He was leading his comrades to death. He would have to watch them die, unable to aid them, just able to watch as they all died, one by one. Then he himself would be killed and Earth would fall.

Ryou held his head in his hands and scowled, scouring his mind for any ideas. For what seemed like forever, he sat and tried, fruitlessly, to come up with an escape plan.

He eyed Deep Blue through the bars of his prison. His mind flashed back to when Deep Blue had punched him and then it hit him.

Trying not to look too excited, Ryou began plotting the details of his plan. He knew that he would only have one shot at this and if he didn't use it properly, the planet would be doomed for sure.

Retreating to the deep recesses of his mind, Ryou began to familiarize himself with his strategy. His plan would have to cover all his bases.

As Deep Blue watched the human, he saw him look at him and his lips curled upward slightly. The human quickly lowered his head to hide his smile, but it was too late, Deep Blue had seen it. Deep Blue knew that the human was plotting something. "Feh," he scoffed. This plan had the most potential yet and Deep Blue wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers because of a pathetic, little human.

He had even made the riddle simple enough so that even a _human _would be able to solve it. They would come, and when they did, they would be destroyed. But he also knew that they weren't as stupid as he thought they were, they wouldn't let themselves be killed so easily. He shouldn't underestimate them, if he did, his perfect plan would fail.

Both beings had the same determined, thought running through their minds.

'_If this is to work, there's no room for mistakes.'_

* * *

After sitting for several hours and just trying to decipher the riddle, they'd given up and turned to the Internet for help. 

At first, they just did a brazen search on the entire Web. After another hour of unproductive searching, they'd finally thought about setting up parameters. They'd scanned the riddle, looking for limits they could put on their searches to make their results more accurate. The only piece of information that was useful was the fact that the location they were looking for was in Tokyo.

Keiichiro had set up the parameters and then cross-referenced "flowers" with "recently abandoned." He'd come up with seven different locations that fit into both categories. Most were abandoned flower shops and he doubted that this was it, but he sent the girls off anyways.

Now it was 4:00a.m. and yet the humans worked tirelessly.

With the four Mews gone out, Keiichiro was typing madly on an online search engine.

He would have gone himself, but he'd decided to stay behind and try to decipher more of the riddle. After staring at the riddle for a while, he finally noticed something out of the ordinary.

"_aTop The flower wiThin Tokyo_…" _'The capitalization is strange in this line…' _scanning the rest of the verse, he noticed that this was the only line with odd capitalization. He looked at the capitalized letters and noticed that all the 'Ts' were capitalized. _'Hmmm… and there's a 'T' in every word… except for flower… perhaps there's _supposed_ to be a 'T' in that word as well.'_

Keiichiro pulled a scrap piece of paper toward him and whipped out a pen. He began adding the 'T' to random places, hoping that one specific position would give him some sort of clue. '_Tflower—no. fTlower—no. flTower—no—wait a second!' _Keiichiro crossed out the "fl" and wound up with "Tower."

"That's it! Okay, '_aTop The Tower wiThin Tokyo_…' a tower in Tokyo… which one though?" He muttered to himself, "It could be any of them. Maybe Deep Blue wanted to be really obvious… Tower… Tokyo… Tower… Tokyo… TOKYO TOWER!! That's it!"

How could he have been so stupid? The Cyniclons' secret lair used to be located at the top of Tokyo Tower. It had been recently abandoned because Kish had just left for his home planet. That must be where Deep Blue had taken Ryou.

It had to be. It was the only logical explanation.

Keiichiro began shutting down the computer; he and the girls were going to Tokyo Tower.

* * *

Minto had just finished scouring the roof of the building she'd been assigned when her pendant began to blink and beep. Keiichiro had explained to all the Mews that if he found another lead, he would contact them with their pendants. He'd said that if this happened, they were expected to report back to the café immediately. 

Minto wondered what he'd found and leapt off the roof of the short building she'd been searching. She began running through the empty streets toward Café Mew Mew.

She was joined by Purin who had been assigned a building near Minto's building.

"What do you think he found?" Purin asked.

"I don't know, but I hope it's something good," Minto said, casting a glance toward her fellow Mew Mew.

"I hope so too."

After a bit of speculating about what they thought might've happened, they lapsed into silence and continued running in silence.

* * *

Zakuro and Retasu had been sent together for Retasu's sake, so on the way back, they both hypothesized about what the lead could be. 

After ten minutes, the girls reached the café. Stepping inside, they found Minto, Purin and Keiichiro waiting for them.

"What happened?" Zakuro questioned.

"Did you find anything?" Retasu asked hopefully.

Keiichiro nodded grimly, "I deciphered the first two lines of the riddle."

Retasu beamed, "And?"

"They're at Tokyo Tower," Keiichiro replied.

"Wait a second, what about the rest of the riddle?" Retasu asked sceptically.

"I looked at it and I think that we need to be there to solve the rest of it," Keiichiro responded confidently.

Zakuro walked up to Keiichiro and hugged him, "I knew you could do it," she praised.

Keiichiro squeezed her thin body, "Don't celebrate yet, I haven't completely solved it. I only got the first part of it."

"Don't be so modest, the point is that you got it and now we're closer to finding Ryou," Minto added.

The girls all agreed to that and were about to leave when Purin asked, "Do you have the riddle with you?"

"I'm pretty sure that I have it…" Keiichiro fumbled around in his pockets for the slip of paper but found them to be empty, "Oops," he muttered, "I'll be right back."

Keiichiro hurried back into the room he'd been working in. At first he didn't see the paper and he panicked. Without the paper, all thoughts of finding Ryou were lost; without the paper, Ryou would die for sure.

Scanning the room, he saw a bit of white poking out from under the wheel of his chair. Bending down, he rolled the chair aside and picked up the paper. Fortunately, it was the riddle. Shoving it into his pocket, he rejoined the girls and said, "Now we can go."

Purin pushed open the doors of the café and cried, "Tokyo Tower here we come!"

* * *

Ichigo sat on Kish's lap with his arms around her, staring out the window at the dark abyss on the other side. 

Kish dipped his head and he nuzzled Ichigo's neck. "You're so beautiful."

Ignoring his comment, Ichigo mused, "Isn't it amazing how much space there is out there?"

Kish turned her head toward him and stroking her cheek, pressed his lips to hers. "Hai, but not as amazing as you," he whispered, looking her in the eye.

Ichigo smiled and leaned into him one more time, she still could not believe that he was with her; that he loved her. Pulling away she turned back to the window.

Kish rested his chin on Ichigo's shoulder and gazed out the window.

As he watched, a white frozen ball came into view and got bigger and bigger, "Look."

"What is it?" Ichigo looked where Kish was pointing and saw a frozen orb. "Is that—?"

"Hai, that's Kaosu," Kish said solemnly, watching the planet slowly get bigger. "The entire surface is frozen over; the cloud coverage provides constant blizzards and limits the sunshine to only an hour or two a day. Sometimes, the sun's heat and light don't reach the surface of the planet for days. My people haven't enjoyed the sunshine in over two years."

Ichigo grabbed Kish's hand and squeezed it. She couldn't think of anything good enough to say to his statement, so she looked at him and smiled sadly. She couldn't believe that these people had survived for so long. She would do everything in her power to help save these people. Something puzzled her though, "But Kisshu, even a couple hours a day of sun shouldn't allow the planet to become a ball of ice."

Kish nodded gravely, "The sun is dying as well. It doesn't give us as much heat and light as it used to, so Kaosu is dying a slow and painful death."

"So where do the people live?"

"Underground."

"Where do you get the food from? The crops must've died long time ago."

"We hunt; the animals that breed in colder weather are thriving. We have no choice but to hunt them."

"…We'll save your people. Don't worry."

Kish stayed silent, but he squeezed Ichigo's hand.

Ichigo smiled to herself and went back to gazing intently out the window. The couple sat silently and watched the planet come closer and closer. Her thoughts went to the poor people on the planet and she felt her eyes sting, she'd always been a sucker for sad stories. Those Children's Aid programs that played on TV always found her face flooded with tears of empathy.

Trying to stop the tears, Ichigo looked for other details of the planet; she soon noticed that Kaosu had three moons. She was about to comment on it when the door _whooshed_ open.

Ichigo turned to see Shin carrying her washed clothes. She smiled at him and nodded as he caught her gaze and set her clothing down on a table. "Arigato Shin-san."

Shin nodded in response and said, "We will be entering Kaosu's gravitational field soon. You need to come and strap in." He said nothing about the fact that she was crying. He smiled softly at her before he turned and exited the room.

Ichigo untangled herself from Kish and stood in front of him. He was still staring out the window glumly. Ichigo eyed him sympathetically and fingered his forest green locks of hair. Turning his head toward her, she saw how upset he was, how worried he was for his people. His eyes seemed to be unusually clear and watery. Bending his chin upwards, she kissed him softly; trailing her nose upwards, Ichigo gently pressed her lips to his pale forehead. Then, she hugged him tightly and murmured, "It'll be okay."

Kish smiled at her sincerity and stood up. Holding her in his arms, he smiled down at her and caressing her cheek, he teased, "I want my shirt back."

Ichigo's cheeks turned a soft pink and she smiled back at Kish as he wiped away her tears, "You perv," she scolded playfully.

Flashing his famous smirk, Kish hugged her. His fingers subtly crept to the bottom of his top.

Ichigo realized what he was doing a second too late. He had lifted the shirt and swiftly pulled it off her. Ichigo shrieked and her hands flew to cover her chest. She jumped back from him and glared at his grinning face with exaggerated outrage. This was a mistake, seeing as now he was looking her up and down and grinning foolishly.

Ichigo whirled around, her face burning; she snatched the bed sheet and held it up against herself. Hoisting it up to free her feet, she slipped toward her clothes. Turning away from him, she hastily fastened on her bra, pulled on her sweater and hauled her jeans over her legs.

Dropping the blanket, Ichigo stormed up to Kish and slapped him across the face. Or, that's what she meant to do; Kish grabbed her wrist and smirked down at her.

Ichigo tried her hardest to hide her smile with a scowl and attempted, unsuccessfully, to yank her wrist from his grip, "All men are the same! I thought that you would be different, putting on that act, but it was all a ploy to take advantage of me wasn't it?"

Kish's smirk widened, "Oh, you act so innocent, but you aren't innocent at all."

If possible, Ichigo's face got even redder, her fake scowl shrivelled away and was replaced by a giggle and a flirtatious grin, "Oh, you would know."

Kish stepped closer to her and his free hand looped around her waist. He stepped forward, forcing her back until she was pressed up against the wall. He lifted his hand from her waist and pressed his palm up against the wall beside her head to trap her. Still smirking he purred, "Of course I would know, I'm the only one you reveal it to."

"Reveal what?" Ichigo asked, knowing full well what he was referring to.

"Yoursel—"

Ichigo had elbowed him in the stomach. She placed a foot behind his and pushed him backwards. What she didn't take into account was the fact that he had a firm hold on her. She fell down with him. She broke into giggles as the two rolled across the floor. Soon, she was poking him in his stomach and vice versa as they rolled.

Hitting the wall, they stopped attacking each other and lay on the floor, breathing slightly heavier than normal.

Grinning at him, Ichigo stood up. Leaning over him, she poked him in his stomach and swivelling around, made a run for the door.

_Whoosh._

Ichigo's constant giggling was interrupted by her yelp as Kish tackled her from behind. The two landed with a thump and Kish began tickling her while cackling playfully. Ichigo gasped with laughter and attempted in vain to roll away.

Kish rolled so that Ichigo was lying on her back and Kish was on top of her tickling her to oblivion. He noticed a shadow fall over the two and he stopped. Looking up he noticed Shin glaring down at the two sternly.

Ichigo let her head fall back onto the floor and looked up to see an angry looking Shin.

"Can't you keep your hands off each other for just five minutes? This trip is for the sake of the people on our planet Kish. Can't you take anything seriously? And you Ichigo, I came in there to give you your clothes only a few minutes ago and this is what happens? I thought that with you along…" Shin's criticisms continued while the couple stood up. Dusting themselves off, they hung their heads as Shin chewed them out.

Feeling the ship tremble the slightest bit, Shin wrapped up his chastening and stalked off.

Glancing at each other guiltily, the two trailed behind Shin and quietly strapped themselves into their seat as they had before.

Ichigo glanced at Shin's solemn face and cracked up. She couldn't help it, it was a natural reaction to trouble, as the teacher scold you, out of instinct, you sneak a peek at your partner in crime and can't help laughing. Stifling her laughter, she refrained from looking at Kish. She knew that he would make her laugh out loud for sure. Finally taking a deep breath, Ichigo calmed herself enough to be able to breath openly without cracking up. Settling down and leaning against Kish, she gazed out the window at the approaching planet.

Shin cracked up inside, but after years of practice, kept on a neutral face. _'The looks on their faces were priceless. Although, I think I overdid it a bit.'_

She ship rumbled and Shin's internal laughter promptly came to an end. Ichigo and Kish glanced at Shin; his face was expressionless with all hints of anger gone.

"Here we go!" He hooted and steered the ship into a steep dive.

"What time is it?" Ichigo called loudly.

"6:30a.m." Shin answered after a pause.

"Ichigo," Kish called softly into her ear.

"Hai?"

"My people will look down at you because you are human. You would do better to ignore this and not take it personally. It is an ancient prejudice and it can't be helped."

"But that's not fair!" Ichigo protested, "How can they be so hostile toward someone who's trying to help them?"

"Cut them some slack, they're on the brink of death because of humans. For all they know, you are here to trick them and help the Drones."

Ichigo frowned but kept quiet. Putting it out of her mind, she nodded and staring ahead excitedly, settled in for a long, thrilling ride. "This is gonna be _so_ much fun!"

* * *

Half an hour later, Shin had manoeuvred the ship into a perfect landing. 

Kish unbuckled the belt and released the two.

Ichigo had screamed at times during the flight when the ship had wobbled and she stood up feeling exhilarated but a little weak in the knees. She was about to tumble to her knees when hands closed around her waist and supported her.

Kish held Ichigo against his chest until she stopped wobbling. Letting go of her, he watched her stumble and snickered, "I thought that this was gonna be so much fun. What happened now?"

"It was fun; I'm just a little… dizzy." Ichigo stuck her tongue out a Kish as she finally regained her balance. "There, I'm fine now. Let's go."

Kish took a step toward her and said, "Shin, I'll take her, you take her bagga—"

"Wait a second! I can go by myself," Ichigo interrupted, unaware that Kish was meaning to teleport.

"Unless you learned how to teleport, no you can't," Kish retorted.

It took Ichigo a second to comprehend what he'd said. "Iie, can't we go outside? Your house can't be _that_ far away."

"Ichigo, do you know how _cold_ it is outside?"

"Well, that's why you bought me a snowsuit right?"

"Ichigo, listen to me—"

"Iie Kisshu, _you_ listen, I'm on a new planet and I just want to see how it is outside. After this, I promise no more unnecessary trips outside. Take me outside just this one time, onegai."

Kish sighed, "Fine, let's go." He turned and started for the doors.

"Just a second," Shin called, "we have to put on our snowsuits before we go out."

"Okay, where are they?" Ichigo asked brightly.

"They're being stored in the Luggage Compartment," Shin answered bleakly.

Ichigo blushed when she remembered what had happened to prevent the three from getting into the Luggage Compartment. She lowered her head in apology. When she lifted her face, Shin was gone and Kish was wrapping his arms around her.

Fierce wind threw itself at Ichigo and she clamped her eyes shut. Ichigo's fingers tightened around the cloth of Kish's top. Finally, the wind died down and she opened her eyes. Cautiously, she loosened her grasp on Kish's top and she looked around the chamber they were in.

It was a small rectangular compartment with luggage piled high against the walls. Against the back wall were Ichigo's belongings.

Kish gave the human a little shove in the direction of her stuff, "Put it all on," he instructed. Kish watched her stumble toward the back of the room and he turned and joined Shin who was digging up their own snowsuits along the right wall of the room.

Ten minutes later, all three were standing in the Control Room of the ship bundled up in their protective clothing with Ichigo looking puffy in her brand new human snowsuit and the males looking wary in their thick fur clothing.

While Kish and Ichigo did some last minute preparations, Shin teleported Ichigo's belongings into the Cyniclons' underground community.

"Here we go," Kish muttered as Shin returned and opened the hatch.

Kish snatched Ichigo's hand as she gazed out at the ferocious blizzard outside the ship with anticipation. He began walking forward and Ichigo walked along beside him with a star-struck expression on her face. Kish murmured warnings to her all the while, "Follow me. Don't let go of my hand. Keep your head down…"

As they stepped out of the ship, Shin closed the hatch from an outdoor control panel and then hurried after the couple. Ichigo could no longer hear Kish's voice as she gazed around with wonder. She couldn't see much due to the howling wind which whipped heavy snowflakes against her. She could feel the bitter cold assaulting her unprotected face, but she refused to let it get to her.

They'd only gone a few yards when Ichigo shivered inside her snowsuit and felt her fingers starting to numb. _'Oh no! My snowsuit isn't keeping me warm at all!' _In hopes of seeing more of Kish's home planet, she kept her discomfort to herself.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but they finally stopped; this was supposedly the entrance to Kish's underground dwelling. As far as she could see, there was nothing but white snow all around them, nothing that could've been an entrance. She questioned Kish about it and he said that she was right. The way the aliens got in was by teleporting inside. That way, the Drones and animals wouldn't be able to enter and surprise the Cyniclons.

Kish and Shin teleported inside, taking Ichigo with them. Kish extracted his arms from around the girl and dusted the snow off of his own and her snowsuits. He pulled down his hood and watched as Ichigo did the same and walked around a bit to take in the surroundings.

Kish squinted at Ichigo's face in the darker setting, she didn't look so good. "Ichigo? Are you okay?"

Ichigo nodded, feeling a little dizzy, "Yeah… I'm fine," she assured him.

As soon as his eyes adjusted, Kish could see that she wasn't okay at all; her skin had turned pallid with a faint tinge of blue. "Are you sure?" his brow furrowed and he took a step toward her.

"I-I'm fine," Ichigo insisted weakly. She took a step toward Kish to reassure him when she staggered. Ichigo could no longer feel her legs. She felt light-headed and the world spun, the ground seemed to be getting closer and closer to her. She tried to force her sluggish hands up to try to steady herself, but they were so heavy and she didn't have the energy to move them.

Suddenly, the spinning stopped and she was left staring up into Kish's worried face. "Kisshu…" she whispered. She was beginning to see black spots and these spots seemed to expand, eating away the rest of her vision like fire would lick the edges of a photograph, making it smaller and smaller until it was gone.

Kish's alarmed expression quickly morphed into one of horror as Ichigo slipped into unconsciousness.

Shin drifted nearer and touched Ichigo's cheek. He was shocked to feel that her skin was unnaturally cold. Shin pulled her hood over her head and leaned her head against Kish's chest, "You need to warm her up _now_."

Kish nodded and began walking toward the chambers his family had inhabited before his departure. Shin retrieved Ichigo's suitcases from where he'd left them and hurried after Kish.

After only five minutes of walking, a musical voice stopped Kish in his tracks. "Kisshu… is that you?"

Kish's ears twitched as he turned slowly. In front of him stood a female that he knew very well; Matara. Her long navy blue hair framed her face and made her rich mahogany eyes stand out. She beamed at him and began rushing toward him with her arms wide open.

Matara noticed Kish stiffen and she looked down at what—who was in his arms. It was a person and from the looks of her snowsuit and the reddish-copper hair peeking out from under the hood, it was a female. Matara's grin became forced as she stopped in front of Kish, "And who might this be?"

"How are you Matara?" Kish asked tightly, ignoring her question and steering the conversation to safer topics. It would not be a good thing if Matara found out about Ichigo while she wasn't well.

Matara plastered a wide, fake grin on her face and answered, "I'm fine, and you?" She had noticed his discomfort and the abrupt change of topic. Apparently, he didn't want her to know who this female was. This only made Matara's urge to yank the hood off of her even stronger.

"I'm—"

Shin cleared him throat and stared at Ichigo pointedly.

"Busy," Kish finished. He skirted Matara who was blocking his path and continued along with Shin trailing him.

Matara glared at the retreating aliens, her eyes zeroed in to the limp figure in Kish's arms. She clenched her teeth and vowed to find out who that female was and make her life a living hell no matter what it took.

Kish used to look at Matara greedily and she was used to the occasional loss of control in which he would push her up against a wall and kiss her fiercely. Then, someone would always show up and stop the inappropriate amount of affection between the two. This wouldn't happen if only Kish would choose some place that was not so public, but he seemed to love to show off. Kish would pull away, smirk that smirk of his that she adored and say something witty before ambling away. Now, Kish didn't seem to be affected at all by Matara. He had eyes only for the wretch in his arms.

Scowling, Matara stalked off with a perfect way to approach Kish without seeming suspicious. Hopefully, her scheme would also allow her to gain the knowledge of who this female was.

* * *

Kish and Shin arrived at Kish's family's chambers to find them empty. Kish was relieved to recognize his belongings; that meant that not all of them were dead. Kish hurried into the room that he used to share with his brother. It was exactly as he remembered. His bed had not been moved and it had been kept clean. There was not a speck of dust in sight. 

Kish pulled back to covers and laid Ichigo onto the bed.

Shin set the suitcases at the foot of the bed, "Kish, I'm going to see my family. I'll come back to check up on her soon," Shin gestured to Ichigo before continuing, "Until then, farewell."

"I'll see you later Shin," Kish replied distractedly.

Kish knew that this was the beginning of a human ailment called hypothermia. He could see it in the way Ichigo's breathing was shallow and her heart rate was racing. He also knew that if he didn't warm her up soon, she could die. He cursed himself for putting her life at risk yet again.

Kish knew that first, he had to dry her off and her snowsuit was wet from the blizzard outside. The water seemed to have seeped in through the openings for her head, hands and feet. Stripping off his own snowsuit, he carefully pulled off Ichigo's. To his dismay, he found her clothing to be damp. Gritting his teeth, he cautiously removed her sweater and jeans. He lay her down on his bed and pulled the covers over her. Grabbing the blankets from his parents' bed and his brother's bed, he piled them on top of his.

He was about to crawl under when he thought to take off his own top, this way, his body heat would be more available to her.

Pushing all the clothing off the bed and onto the other side of the bed, he lifted the covers in order to slide under.

Thundering feet and loud voices stopped him. He hadn't bothered to lock the door after Shin's departure and now, a huge mob of excited people surged in and crowded toward him. They kept moving forward and he was being forced back until he felt the edge of the bed pressed against his calves.

"Kish! You're back!"

"Welcome home!"

"Did we win the war?"

"Who else is here?"

"Where is my Taruto?"

"Kisshu!"

"WHO'S THAT?"

The swarm had been happily praising him until a distinctly female voice had cried out in reference to Ichigo. The people fell silent as they redirected their gazed to whoever was underneath the mountain of blankets.

"SHE'S HUMAN!" someone cried out, catching sight of her ears.

"Get her out of here!"

"What is she doing here?"

"Did _you_ bring her here?"

"Why is _her_ kind here?"

"She doesn't belong here!"

"GET HER!"

Kish's stance quickly became defensive. "Leave her alone!" he snarled, "She's here to help and all you can think of is past prejudice?"

"Humans don't belong here! They stole from us and then they dare to show their faces here?" someone called out in outrage.

A growl built up in Kish's chest, "You ungrateful curs! Without her, we will fall to the Drones! She is here to help! She's risking her life here and all you can do is tell her that she's _unwanted_?" Kish glowered at everyone in the mob of people and bared his teeth menacingly.

Everyone was astonished by Kish's behaviour; they all took a step away from the feral expression on Kish's face.

"She's asleep, let's go," a familiar voice called. Everyone walked demurely out the door.

Kish turned back to Ichigo, he'd recognized the voice that had called off the swarm of people; it had been Matara's. It made him sick knowing that at one time, he'd actually been interested in her. Kish's fingers brushed Ichigo's cheek and he stared at her. The cat was out of the bag, everyone knew now that he'd brought a human to Kaosu knowing what had happened last time his kind had come into contact with humans.

Kish sensed someone approaching and he whirled around on the offensive. His guard fell as he recognized the figure as his brother, "Hiro?"

Hiro scowled darkly and slammed his fist into Kish face.

The force of the punch sent Kish flying. His back smashed into the wall and he slumped to the ground. Kish stood and glared at Hiro. "What was that for?" he demanded.

Hiro wasn't paying any attention to Kish, he was surveying Ichigo. Glancing up he said, "She needs you, I'll come back later." With that, Hiro turned and walked swiftly out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Kish walked back around to where his brother had been standing and eyed the direction in which he'd gone. He'd expected as much, only a lot worse. Kish smiled to himself, Hiro hadn't commented on Ichigo and he hadn't looked angry or disgusted when he'd seen her. That meant that he wasn't prejudiced against the humans like the other Cyniclons. Hiro had always been more open-minded and tolerant than others. He didn't discriminate against anyone based on things that they had no say in, such as what species they were born as.

Kish turned his attention back to Ichigo. The blue in her skin had grown more prominent and he grimaced as he eyed her skin. _'This is all my fault; I shouldn't have agreed to let her walk all this way.' _Kish lifted the covers and slid underneath them, pulling Ichigo toward him and enveloping her in his arms. A tingle ran through Kish when her icy skin made contact with his. Kish tightened the covers around the two and pressed his cheek against the top of Ichigo's head, praying silently to himself that she'd be okay.

* * *

A little while later, Kish's eyelids were getting heavy. He'd just closed them willingly when he felt Ichigo tremble a little. Kish opened an eye lazily. He lifted her face up to his and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Ichigo's cheeks were no longer deathly pale. 

As he watched, she trembled again and her brow furrowed. She must be close to consciousness. A smile spread across Kish's face when Ichigo's eyes appeared, but it quickly disappeared when her body tensed and her trembles turned into violent shivers. His eyes widened in horror and he tightened his arms around her, crushing her to his chest.

Ichigo couldn't feel her fingers and her toes anymore. Her breath coming out shuddery and uneven, she huddled against the warm body pressed against hers; a body which she assumed belonged to Kish. Fierce shivers racked her body and she buried her face into Kish's chest, grateful for the heat he produced. She brought her icy fingers up and pressed them to his skin, heating them up.

Soon, Ichigo's vicious shivering was reduced to mild shudders now and then. She sighed and pressed herself ever closer to the warmth beside her.

Kish eyed the human in his arms. She'd been awake for a while now and she hadn't said a word, this worried him. Noticing the dullness in her eyes, he concluded that she needed food and fast. With that in mind, Kish began to pull away from her.

Ichigo looked up at him, her eyes round with fear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Kish twisted his head to see Hiro standing over the bed balancing a tray in one hand.

Hiro set the tray on a bedside table and instructed, "Make her eat this. I've mixed in some medication so that her cold will be treated before it gets worse."

"She doesn't have a—"

Suddenly, Ichigo sneezed and sniffed. She looked down and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Kish snapped his mouth shut and sat up, dragging Ichigo up with him. He pulled the blankets up around her and let her lean against him. Kish looked at the tray and saw steaming hot ramen. His brow furrowed, there was no ramen on Kaosu. Kish looked for Hiro, but he'd already left the room, having no other business inside. Kish spied an open suitcase and understood. He picked up the bowl and held out noodles for Ichigo. "Blow first this time," he said in a teasing voice, trying to lighten the mood.

Ichigo smiled and was about to reply when she sneezed again. Sniffling, she blew at the ramen and swallowed them greedily.

She ate the entire bowl similarly, pausing sometimes to sneeze.

Ichigo felt the warmth spread within her and a tingle travelled through her. As soon as she was done, she rested her head against the indentation just above his collarbone and waited for him to finish eating.

Kish ate his bowl quickly. He had no need to blow on the noodles, they were no longer hot. He fingered a strand of Ichigo's hair thoughtfully before murmuring, "I'm done."

Ichigo lifted her head and gazed into Kish's beautiful golden eyes. She hugged him fiercely, "I feel so much better," she mumbled into his chest.

Kish's arms tightened around the female's body and he held her at arm's length, surveying her. Her skin had regained its natural shade and her eyes were bright and lively. Kish smiled, "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered before gently pressing his lips against hers. Pulling away, he watched that adorable blush rise to colour her cheeks and he smirked. "Ready to get up yet, or would you prefer getting bedridden with another ailment…?"

"Why would I prefer that?"

"So that I'd sleep with you," Kish answered without skipping a beat.

Ichigo reddened, "I think pass," she answered pulling off the covers. Cool air assaulted her and she looked down. Shrieking, she yanked the blankets back over herself, "My clothes!" she screeched when Kish looked at her questioningly.

"Oh yeah, that," smirking, Kish got up and picked up her clothes from where he'd dumped them. They were dry just like his shirt. He tossed them back to her and leaving his shirt on the floor, leaned against the wall and watched her with his smirk still present.

Face burning, Ichigo glared at Kish. "Please tell me that _you_ didn't take them off."

"What's the matter? You've already shown me much more than _that_," Kish taunted playfully, gesturing with his chin toward her current attire which consisted of only her bra and her panties.

Ichigo hurled a pillow at the boy and growled, "Face the wall!" As soon as he complied, she got up and quickly pulled on her clothing.

She heard the doorknob turn and she whirled to face the visitor. She froze when she saw who it was—Kish with a different hairstyle and clothing.

Forehead creasing with confusion, she spun around to the wall where she'd seen him last. To her utter bewilderment, he was still there. Her head whipped back and forth between the two Kish's. Ichigo rubbed her eyes and looked again; they were both still there, watching her intently with the same amused expression.

"Kisshu? Why am I seeing two of you?"

"You're not. Ichigo, this is my older brother, Hiro."

Ichigo glanced back at Kish's lookalike. He'd come closer and Ichigo noticed subtle differences. Hiro did look older, although they shared the same warm, liquid gold eyes and the same shade of skin and hair. His cheekbones were slightly higher and his chin was more defined. His hair was the major difference. Where Kish's hair was cropped to his shoulders and held tight on either side of his face, Hiro had long hair that extended down to the middle of his back that was bound in a high ponytail. Hiro also had a scar on his left cheek that extended from below his eye to a little off the corner of his mouth and he was taller than Kish. He was wearing dark coloured pants that looked similar to sweats and a worn, indigo tank top that stuck to his skin—sort of like muscle shirts back on Earth. The top outlined every defined muscle on his built chest his arms were no different. It wasn't like a wrestler who was all muscles and no longer attractive, Hiro had just the right ratio of muscles to make him unbearably irresistible.

Ichigo ogled at him, she couldn't help it; he was dazzling—maybe even more so than Kish. All thought escaped her when his lips turned upward in a boyish smile. His liquid eyes warmed and pierced through her with startling intensity.

Hiro offered his hand, and introduced himself, "I'm Hiro, nice to meet you."

Ichigo gazed at him blankly. Her eyes were glued to his and she paid no attention to what he was saying. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his mouth move, but his words made no sense to her.

Kish frowned at her lack of response and teleported next to her. He cleared his throat and watched as she shook herself and glanced down at his extended hand blankly.

Understanding dawned over Ichigo and she reached out and placed her hand in his, fully expecting a handshake.

Hiro closed his hand around hers, lifting her hand and bending down a little; he kissed the back of her hand.

"My name's… Ichigo… Momomiya Ichigo," Ichigo stuttered and almost forgot her name when his soft lips brushed her hand. She stared, dazed, into his magnificent, golden eyes.

Hiro heard a low growl and smirked at the effect he had on the female and his brother. He'd always been able to charm the women so easily that it infuriated his little brother. Hiro released her hand and straightened up.

His smirk made Ichigo snap out of her trance. It was so much like Kish's smirk. She shook herself again and muttered "Excuse me for staring," before turning her attention to Kish.

Kish refused to look at her and instead settled for glowering at Hiro.

Hiro continued to smirk and merely shrugged in response to Kish's warning before he said, "Kish, nice to see you in one piece."

Matching his brother's smirk, Kish retorted, "A bunch of humans can't get rid of me, although I'm not so sure about you."

Although his smirk stayed in place, Hiro's expression darkened and he looked like he was going to punch Kish again.

Ichigo saw this and interrupted before the conversation turned into a full blown brawl, "Kisshu, why don't you tell Hiro about your trip?"

Kish finally glanced at Ichigo and noticing her expression, agreed.

Ten minutes later, the trio was seated on the bed and Kish was done his story and Hiro started his.

"When you left, Mom and Dad were very upset. For a couple months, everything when fine, but then it started to get bad.

"The money started to run low and we couldn't afford three square meals a day. Dad and I did extra work and we were paid a little extra but it still wasn't enough.

"Mom fell ill then. Ever since you left, her health hadn't been the best and she fell sick often. But this time was different. She was barely ever awake, she talked about you in her sleep, she didn't have enough strength to get up and she wouldn't eat…" Hiro's voice trailed off and Ichigo noticed the pained expression on his face that was mirrored on Kish's face.

"We couldn't afford medication and soon, she… left us. It wasn't long before the Drones attacked.

"Men were out hunting and they never came back. The next batch that was sent out was warned about this. They found the men's dead bodies and brought back the corpses. They went out again, this time armed with stronger weapons. When they came back, they carried five corpses; two of our own men, two animals and one unknown corpse. The men explained that only one had attacked this time and together they'd managed to kill it, but not before it claimed the life of two of our own.

"The people approached the unknown corpse. It was black and appeared to be mechanical. The men said they'd only managed to kill it by piercing the Drone's thick armour, destroying the circuit board and ripping out the wires.

"The strongest men of the village gathered and went out, with the intent of killing off every last one of the beasts. They spied a ship swarming with these monsters and sat there plotting a way to defeat these monsters, they'd only been there for a couple moments when they were attacked. Some of the monsters had followed the men's footprints and ambushed them. Only a few managed to escape. They snatched the bodies and returned to the cave. Amongst the dead bodies was Dad's.

"Dad didn't let me go along with him. I could've helped if he'd let me come along!" Hiro snarled.

Ichigo placed a hand on Hiro's knee and stared at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Since then, we've lived in fear. Men scarcely go out and when they do, they take the utmost care. Children and women aren't allowed outside anymore. Our community is falling apart, every so often, the men don't return and yet another family is left without a father or a brother.

"We have to stop those bastards!" Hiro growled.

Kish stared at Hiro dumbfounded. His mother and father were dead and it was all because of him. If he'd been there, he would have been able to work and make more money. Mom wouldn't have gotten sick and they would've had enough food. If he'd stayed, then Hiro would've been allowed to go with Dad after the creatures, then Dad would've been saved, and everyone would still be alive. If he'd stayed, his parents would still be alive. Kish's chin dropped to his chest and tears rolled down his cheeks.

He looked up abruptly with a malicious expression on his face, "Hiro, we are going to destroy them! Help me gather all the able bodied men and the weapons; we are going to launch an attack on them. They _will_ perish for killing all those people."

With her free hand, Ichigo clutched Kish's hand and squeezed, "Kisshu…" Whatever he decided to do, she would help him.

Kish squeezed Ichigo's hand in return and scowled, _'I refuse to lose! I will avenge you Dad, I promise! Even if it's the last thing I do, I'll avenge you!' _

**End Chapter****

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**soo? how was it??**

**i realli laboured this time.**

**i had no time whatsoever and it took a hell of a lot of time to finish this!**

**i barely edited it, so if u notice and mistakes, please inform me.**

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**AND HIRO??OMG TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF HIRO!! DOES HE SOUND HOT??**

**lol**

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**um... what else...?**

**ohh, the parts back on earth--were they satisfactory??**

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**-lil angel**

**P.S._ review please and make my day!- thank you for all the reviews and the continued support for my story--without u, there would be no story... wow..i don't even want to_ think _about that... (_**_shudders)_


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